Baseball’s annual trade deadline is the busiest of all the four major sports—baseball, basketball, football, and hockey. Why? The vast minor league system, which allows a contending team to add a major piece without subtracting from the current roster.
Usually the most likely candidates to be dealt are star veterans whose contracts are set to expire within the next two seasons. Either the team feels that they won’t be able to re-sign them or they don’t fit within their youth movement. Here are the 10 biggest who are likely to be dealt before the July 31 trade deadline.
1. David Price, SP, Detroit Tigers—With former MVPs Miguel Cabrera on the DL and Justin Verlander looking like he should have never have been taken off it, the mediocre Tigers aren’t going anywhere. The former Cy Young winner Price is set to be a free agent this offseason and should give Detroit some prospects for the future.
2. Cole Hamels, SP, Philadelphia Phillies—It’s an annual question of when the woeful Phillies will finally deal Hamels—their biggest trading chip. The team hasn’t contended since 2011 and Hamels—who is owed 23.5 million per season through 2018—has no business being wasted on a team in desperate need of a rebuild.
3. Johnny Cueto, SP, Cincinnati Reds—Cueto finished runner-up in last year’s Cy Young race and with an ERA of 2.79 through 18 starts this season, he’s picked up right where he left off. Meanwhile, the Reds are 16 games back in the NL Central (through Monday) and the 29-year old Cueto is set to be a free agent at the end of the season.
