Top 10 Most Likely MLB Trade Candidates Before 2025 Deadline

The St. Louis Cardinals—with the belief they would take a step back in 2025—tried to find a trade partner for Nolan Arenado this past offseason. Ultimately, though, the future Hall of Famer blocked a deal to the Houston Astros using his no-trade clause.

In theory, what's been a strong offensive start for the eight-time All-Star should lead to increased trade interest in his services this summer, as opposed to the winter when he was coming off a 2024 season where he posted a .719 OPS.

But given how wide-open the NL Central is, it's no guarantee that the Cardinals won't be in the playoff race come July 31. Remember, not only do they have to be motivated to trade Arenado, but they would also have to find a landing spot he'd be willing to waive his no-trade clause to.

Considering Arenado isn't in a contract year—he's signed through 2027—it's hardly certain that the 10-time Gold Glove Award winner is going to be dealt this summer.

While Arenado's uncertain to be a trade candidate, here are 10 players we feel pretty comfortable saying will be highly discussed in advance of the July deadline.

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Luis Robert Jr. is off to an ice-cold start in 2025 and has only played in more than 100 games once in a season. There are definitely things working against him as a trade candidate, which is why he wasn't dealt last summer or in the offseason.

With that said, Robert is just two years removed from hitting 38 home runs and posting 13 outs above average defensively. So many contending teams—the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies among them—have needs in center field. Robert could also potentially be an option for teams looking to improve a corner outfield spot as well.

Exactly what return the White Sox would get for Robert is unclear. The 27-year-old is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, with $20 million club options in 2026 and 2027. In theory, those options are affordable, though they aren't certain to be picked up right now considering he has a .639 OPS since the start of the 2024 season.

The caveat here is that prior to signing a six-year, $200 million contract with the Minnesota Twins before the 2023 season, Carlos Correa had larger deals fall through with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets over physical concerns.

There's no guarantee that even if the Twins can work out a trade of Correa that a similar snafu won't negate it.

With that said, Minnesota is off to a brutal start, and it's clear that building its lineup around three injury-plagued stars—Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis—probably isn't going to be a winning formula. If there's a chance to trade Correa's remaining contract and get a decent return, the Twins might jump on it.

Injury concerns—and a slow start to 2025—aside, Correa did hit .310 with a 4.3 WAR in just 86 games a year ago. That's superstar-level production, and he's still only 30. It stands to reason that a contending team in need of a shortstop—or perhaps even a third baseman—would be interested in someone with an extended postseason resume.

What's the difference between Ryan Helsley and Arenado? Helsley is in a contract year, so barring an extension, the Cardinals might be motivated to move him. Again, though, it will depend upon where they are in the standings.

Last season, Helsley won the Trevor Hoffman Award as the National League's best reliever, posting a 2.04 ERA and recording an MLB-best 49 saves. Given how desperate teams are for impact relievers in the summer, the Cardinals could probably fetch a return of two top-10 prospects from a team's system in return for Helsley.

The Cardinals do have the ability to hold onto Helsley and extend a qualifying offer to him in the offseason, assuring that they at least get draft-pick compensation if he leaves in free agency. But for a team looking to restock their farm system and once again build a great pipeline, moving Helsley this summer might be a nice way for outgoing president of baseball operations John Mozeliak to set Chaim Bloom up for success.

Martín Pérez has never been overpowering, and that's especially been true in his early days with the White Sox, where his two most-used pitches have been an 85.3 mph cutter (36.1 percent) and an 81 mph changeup (30.5 percent).

With that said, Pérez has a 1.59 ERA and hasn't allowed a home run across his first three outings of the 2025 season. Some guys just know how to pitch, and there's enough of a track record to believe Pérez can be a serviceable back-end starter for a contender down the stretch.

No one is suggesting that the White Sox are going to get a franchise-altering return for the 34-year-old lefty. But it feels safe to assume the White Sox are going to be sellers, and that someone who is on the fringes of the postseason race will try to beef up their rotation by adding Pérez via trade.

Sandy Alcántara is back on the mound after missing the entirety of the 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Though it's his first season back from the procedure, Alcántara had the surgery in October of 2023, so he probably won't need his innings managed in a very drastic manner this season.

Granted, Alcántara is probably never going to take on the type of workload he did in 2022, when he tossed six complete games and logged 228.2 innings en route to winning the NL Cy Young Award. That's fine, he's logged 180 or more innings on three other occasions, and so there's enough of a track record to believe that as he moves further away from the surgery, he's going to once again be a workhorse.

A two-time All-Star, Alcantara is still only 29. He's making $17.3 million this season, and will earn a matching amount in 2026. His contract also includes a very team-friendly $21 million club option for 2027, so assuming he proves he's healthy this summer, he should be the most-coveted trade candidate available.

Outside of Alcántara, there aren't a ton of obvious trade candidates on a Marlins team that is devoid of household names. But Anthony Bender is off to a strong start out of Miami's bullpen, so he could be of interest to contending clubs.

Bender utilizes a sinker, slider, changeup combination, while occasionally mixing in a mid-90s four-seam fastball. He missed all of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and then posted a 4.08 ERA across 59 games a season ago. However, Bender's 2.92 FIP in 2024 suggests he was unlucky, and he's gotten positive results so far in 2025.

What makes Bender particularly attractive for teams in need of set-up help is that he's under team control through the 2027 season. With two additional years of arbitration control after 2025, Bender will draw widespread interest this summer.

What would a trade deadline be without Josh Bell joining a new team? He's been dealt in three consecutive summers.

• 2022: Washington Nationals to San Diego Padres
• 2023: Cleveland Guardians to Marlins
• 2024: Marlins to Arizona Diamondbacks

Now in his second stint with the Nationals, Bell is a veteran switch hitter that can play first and DH. The Nationals have some exciting young talents, but are probably a year or two away from contending. He signed a one-year, $6 million deal to return to the Nats in the summer likely aware that there was a real shot he'd be traded for the fourth consecutive summer.

Kyle Finnegan was non-tendered by the Nationals this past offseason but eventually returned to D.C. on a one-year, $6 million deal.

Like Bell, Finnegan is a good bet to be dealt this summer as the Nationals are unlikely to be able to keep pace with the Phillies, Atlanta Braves and New York Mets in the NL East.

Finnegan was an All-Star a year ago, but had a 5.04 ERA in the second half of the season. He's gotten off to a nice start in 2025, which is encouraging. He has 93 career saves, so he could be a solution for a team looking to add a closer. However, he would probably be cast best as a set-up man for a team with World Series aspirations.

It would be best for baseball if Paul Skenes is pitching in October, and given how wide open the NL Central is, it's too early to rule the Pirates out in 2025. The feeling here, though, is that they don't have nearly enough offensively to be a playoff team.

Should the Buccos fail to contend this season, Andrew Heaney is another arm that teams looking to add rotation depth likely will check in on. The veteran lefty has looked good in his first month with the Pirates after signing a one-year, $5.25 million deal. He may not be someone who starts a playoff game, but he could help to get you there.

Elsewhere on the Pirates, Tommy Pham is off to an ice-cold start, and at age-37, it's possible that he's just hit a wall. But he's played for at least two teams in each of the last three years, and if he's got anything left, will likely also be dealt before July 31.

Though they are rarely in contention, the Rockies don't typically tear down their roster. So while teams will likely check in on Ryan McMahon, among others, there's no reason to believe that this will be the year the Rockies blow things up.

With that said, Germán Márquez is in a contract year, and in a market that projects to be relatively thin, could be an intriguing roll of the dice for a contender. The 30-year-old is in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, but he's logged 170 or more innings on four prior occasions. It also stands to reason that he could benefit from not making his home starts at Coors Field.

Márquez's contract does contain a $1 million trade assignment bonus, but his $10 million salary this season is pretty modest if he proves to be even an effective middle-of-the-rotation arm. After a decade in Colorado, Márquez could finally get a chance to pitch elsewhere.