Updated

Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jul 16

MLB Ranks 25 Trade Candidates Ahead of Aug. 3 Deadline as AL Wild-Card Race Tightens

Updated

Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jul 16

MLB Ranks 25 Trade Candidates Ahead of Aug. 3 Deadline as AL Wild-Card Race Tightens

Q: Will Boston's hot streak force them to abandon selling plans and keep their All-Star pitchers for a playoff run?

Probably yes, but Boston has not fully committed yet. The Red Sox’s nine-game winning streak and 14-2 surge before the All-Star break have changed their deadline posture from likely seller to genuine bubble contender. At roughly a half-game out of a wild-card spot in a weak American League, the logic for moving top arms is much weaker than it was a few weeks ago. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has already signaled caution, saying it is too early to talk about trading key players. That shift most directly affects Sonny Gray and Aroldis Chapman. Gray, an All-Star with an 11-1 record and 2.54 ERA, was once viewed as a major trade chip, but his full no-trade protection and contract structure already made a deal difficult. Chapman still looks more movable because contenders always want late-inning relief, and outside evaluations still put his trade odds relatively high. But if Boston keeps winning, even Chapman becomes harder to justify moving. The key point is that Boston is no longer operating like a clear seller. The club now appears to be in a hold-or-hybrid position: keep its best pitchers unless the team cools off quickly, while possibly making smaller moves around the edges. Upcoming games will likely decide it. If the Red Sox stay in the race through late July, the expectation is they keep Gray and likely Chapman for a playoff push rather than cashing them in.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jul 16

Less than three weeks before the Aug. 3 deadline, MLB’s trade market remains unusually fluid, with only three AL teams more than 3.5 games out of a wild-card spot.
Tarik Skubal tops the ranking despite Detroit’s 22-14 surge since June 1, because the Tigers still risk losing the two-time AL Cy Young winner to free agency this winter.
Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray follow near the top, but both Minnesota and Boston have played into contention—Ryan’s Twins are tied for the final AL wild card, while the Red Sox sit 0.5 games back on a nine-game winning streak.
The list also highlights position-player and bullpen options including Jeremy Peña, CJ Abrams, Aroldis Chapman and Luke Weaver, with controllable talent especially valuable in a market short on impact bats.
Several marquee names were left off entirely, including Mike Trout, Byron Buxton and Willson Contreras, because no-trade clauses and public resistance to waiving them make deals unlikely.