One Current or Future Trade Candidate For Each Team in The American League

Every team, whether rebuilding or contending, always has either a surplus of players at one position or a complete hole at others and will want to make a transaction to address those areas. Whether you’re team is looking to cash in on any players they can to get prospects for the future or are looking for the final pieces to the puzzle for a World Series title, every team has at least one player that can be considered a trade candidate or an eventual trade candidate in the near future. Here we will pick one player from each team that could make sense as a current, or near future, trade candidate.

-OF Mitch Haniger(Seattle Mariners)

The Mariners have been perhaps the most active team this offseason due to their tear down of the teams’ roster, and while GM Jerry Dipoto has made it clear he would have to be “blown away” to deal their star outfielder, Seattle would get a huge return for him which could further help out in their small rebuild. Of course, simply keeping him would help too.

-OF Mike Trout(Los Angeles Angels)

Many fans have wondered what the Angels would get in a trade(or who could make that deal happen) for the future hall of famer, and it would make sense due to the uncertain future with the Angels. They have the playoffs in mind in 2019, but if the team falls short once again, it would be interesting if they at least think about the thought of trading Trout in the 2019-20 offseason, especially if the Angels aren’t convinced he would sign an extension to remain in Anaheim for the rest of his career.

-IF Franklin Barreto(Oakland Athletics)

The A’s are relatively set except for a couple of positions next season(catcher and starting pitching) and with a full infield set for 2019, playing time will once again be hard to come by for former top prospect Barreto. Perhaps trading Barreto for an established major leaguer at another position of need, could help out. Of course, Barreto is just 22, so the A’s could take their time with him if they feel he still isn’t ready for consistent major league at-bats.

-OF Kyle Tucker(Houston Astros)

Tucker is the Astros’ top prospect, and one of the top 10 prospects in the game, and he’s mentioned here for one reason, he could very well headline a trade package for an elite major leaguer at a position of need. He’s been mentioned as a possible centerpiece in a trade for Marlins’ catcher J.T. Realmuto, but with Miami still wanting more top talent, it’s unlikely at this time that Tucker would be included in any deal.

-RHP Mike Minor(Texas Rangers)

Minor is the current top Rangers player who is most likely to be dealt and while there’s multiple other players who could eventually be dealt(Jose Leclerc, Shin-Soo Choo), we’ll use Minor in this post. Many teams have been linked to Minor both in a starting and relief role, and the Rangers have made it clear they want meaningful prospects in return for their current top starter.

-OF Nicholas Castellanos(Detroit Tigers)

He’s currently the top trade candidate for the Tigers and they’ve been shopping him hard this offseason as he enters his final year of team control, with the Dodgers being most heavily linked to the Tigers’ outfielder, but with the asking price too high for teams right now, don’t expect a Castellanos deal soon.

-RHP Corey Kluber(Cleveland Indians)

Both Kluber and fellow starter Trevor Bauer have been all over the rumor mill this offseason but the Indians have not connected on a deal with anyone. It’s not known if Cleveland will deal either ace now, but several teams remain in talks with the Indians about Kluber.

-1B Jose Abreu(Chicago White Sox)

Abreu has been mentioned in the past as a trade candidate and teams have tried to trade for the White Sox slugger in the past. While Abreu makes sense as a trade candidate, it’s unlikely at this point that Chicago trades him.

-LHP Danny Duffy(Kansas City Royals)

While Whit Merrifield is the popular player amongst Kansas City players when it comes to teams showing trade interest, the Royals still aren’t interested in dealing their star 2nd baseman, which makes Duffy the more likely candidate if they can find a suitor for his services. Duffy will need a rebound in 2019 however, if KC wants to have a chance at dealing the left-hander for any meaningful return.

-3B Miguel Sano(Minnesota Twins)

This is a bit of an interesting one despite the inconsistencies Sano has had thus far in his career. If Sano can’t rebound in 2019, he could very well fall out of favor in Minnesota, who could look to trade him if he can’t get back to the player he was when he first came to the majors. He’s still just 25 though, so it remains to be seen just how much of a leash he still has left on the Minnesota roster.

-3B Miguel Andujar(New York Yankees)

The young 3rd baseman finished runner up in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 but despite that, Andujar has been one of the most popular trade candidates this offseason due to the fact that if New York is to land Manny Machado, Andujar would be supplanted at the hot corner, leaving him with no specific position. Teams have shown a lot of interest in Andujar, but it remains to be seen if the Yankees trade him.

-IF/C Blake Swihart(Boston Red Sox)

Since coming to the majors, the former top prospect has had no real position on the team and continues to be blocked at all positions around the diamond. Swihart has been used all over the field thus far to get more playing time, but he has yet to do much with the bat and eventually Boston could consider a change of scenery type of trade for the 26-year old.

-RHP Dylan Bundy(Baltimore Orioles)

Mychal Givens is the most popular Orioles player when it comes to teams showing interest, but if Bundy can rebound next season, teams could very well have renewed interest in the right hander, in part because he’s had success in recent seasons.

-OF Kevin Kiermaier(Tampa Bay Rays)

If there’s one player that the Rays would consider listening to offers on in the near future, it would probably be Kiermaier. His outstanding defense would be of interest to plenty of teams but it would take not only the Rays falling out of the playoff picture, but Kiermaier’s bat to come back to life in 2019 for Tampa to consider listening to offers on him.

-RHP Marcus Stroman(Toronto Blue Jays)

Teams have shown more interest in Stroman more than anyone on the Blue Jays, but Toronto wants a big return still for the right-hander. However, due to his underwhelming, injury riddled 2018, Toronto would somewhat be selling low on Stroman. The Padres have shown the most interest.

Mike Trout And The Los Angeles Angels Prospects

Once upon a time Mike Trout was a top prospect of the Los Angeles Angels. Now he’s undoubtedly one of the best hitters in baseball and a perennial MVP candidate. He’s also stuck on a team that has not enjoyed success over the years Trout has been in the big leagues. The Angels have made the playoffs just once since Trout debuted in the bigs and still have yet to even win a playoff game(they were swept by the Royals). The team has yet to put a team around Trout capable enough to contend for a World Series, let alone a trip to the playoffs.

The Angels must put a winning team around Trout if they want him to stick around and even if he decides to be a lifelong Angel by signing another extension, the team needs to stop wasting his prime years by putting a team that’s barely capable of making the playoffs at best. That’s the reality that Trout is facing. One positive that perhaps could help the Angels is that there are prospects that could help the team in the next couple of years that could either somewhat soften the blow that the team would take in the event that Trout would leave in free agency after the 2020 season or could help convince Trout that these players can put this team in a better position to make the playoffs. Let’s take a look at prospects the team could see debut while the Mike Trout era continues in Los Angeles:

-Jo Adell

According to MLB.com, Adell is the 15th best prospect overall in the game and has the potential to be a perennial all-star in his big league career. He reached the Double-A level late in 2018 and will most likely begin there in 2019. A big season could make the 19-year old Adell ready for the 2020 season when Trout is still with the team.

-Griffin Canning

While an above average prospect and potentially ready by 2019, Canning will probably take some time before he establishes himself as the mid-level starter that he’s expected to be. Expect him to be another prospect that will make an impact in 2020.

-Brandon Marsh

The pattern here continues, Marsh may not be ready until 2020. Regardless, he’s another above average prospect that has the potential to make an impact in the Angels outfield both defensively and offensively once he’s ready.

Second baseman Jahmai Jones and First baseman Matt Thaiss are much closer to big league readiness and could very well make their way to the bigs next season. MLB.com has Jones ranked as the 5th best second base prospect in the game and Thaiss the fourth best first base prospect in the game with both coming with an above average hit tool.

Angels GM Billy Eppler has done a nice job building a better farm system over the past few years and while none of them will come close to matching Trout’s ability on the field, they could either help keep Trout around by making strong debuts or once again somewhat help soften the potential blow the team would take in losing Trout.

And it’s of course mentioning what a speculative trade package that would bring the Angels in return in the event of a Mike Trout trade if the team would even be willing to listen to offers for the face of the franchise and one of the faces of the entire league.

MLB Top Prospects; 2019’s Rookie Class Looks Impressive

The 2018 season saw the debuts of several top prospects around the league, including AL Rookie of the year and two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani and NL Rookie of the year Ronald Acuna Jr. Both phenoms have plenty of years of elite seasons ahead and no doubt will be entertaining to watch as they continue to grow as major leaguers.

They weren’t the only two to debut in impressive fashion either. Dodgers starter Walker Buehler and Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty both had strong rookie years as well, along with the arrivals of Yankees top prospects Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar, who made strong first year impressions as well. And let’s not forget Nationals star outfielder Juan Soto, who burst onto the scene at just 18 years of age and crushed major league pitching. Plenty of other future talent made brief debuts as well.

So with that being said, what does 2019 look like in regards to top prospect arrivals? Needless to say, nothing short of impressive. It could look even stronger than the 2018 season we just saw. In fact, most of the top 10 prospects over at MLB.com and other outlets may or will make their debuts, including uber prospects Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Fernando Tatis Jr.

It may take longer for some than others, both due to service time considerations and/or teams feeling like their respective players aren’t quite ready to jump to the major league level early in 2019. Regardless, we will see plenty of top talent make it to the show and those players include the aforementioned Guerrero Jr and Tatis Jr, White Sox Top prospect Eloy Jimenez, Astros right-hander Forrest Whitley, Reds infielder Nick Senzel, Rockies top prospect Brendan Rodgers, and more.

There are others who have already made brief debuts in 2018 but still hold their rookie status such as Victor Robles and Kyle Tucker. Those two could very well be in the bigs to stay if they can deliver results for their respective teams(especially if the Nationals lose Bryce Harper in Robles’ case).

The end of the 2018 season left us in awe as we watched some exciting young talent ascend to the majors in a big way and 2019 could see, or will see in the case of some teams, more top talent emerge from the minor league ranks. We will all be here to watch, so get excited. So, What do you think? Feel free to leave your comments!(In case I missed anything as well)