Shohei Ohtani is staying with the Los Angeles Angels. Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander have been traded from the New York Mets. But there is still plenty of potential intrigue heading into Tuesday's 6 p.m. ET trade deadline.
Will teams like the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres look to make major additions, remain quiet or even possibly trade players away? Will the Angels continue to add to make a playoff push? And how many players will the St. Louis Cardinals trade away?
What follows is a ranking of the biggest names to watch -- now that Verlander has been moved.
Nolan Arenado/Paul Goldschmidt/Dylan Carlson/Paul DeJong/Tyler O'Neill, St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are juggling a lot of balls and have already traded Jordan Montgomery and Jordan Hicks, and they're probably not stopping there. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak has indicated that the Cardinals intend to compete next season, so this isn't going to be a full-scale rebuild, which makes any Arenado or Goldschmidt trade unlikely -- especially factoring in both players have full no-trade clauses. Indeed, on Saturday, Mozeliak said in regard to Arenado, "We are not trading him, have not asked him to waive his no-trade clause, so at this time we are working on building our future success."
OK. On the other hand, they do need to rebuild their rotation and they do have replacements available in Jordan Walker, a third baseman whom the Cardinals have shoved into right field with disastrous results, and Nolan Gorman, who could slide over from second base to first base to replace Goldschmidt. Still, Carlson and DeJong are the position players most likely to go. Carlson is part of the crowded outfield picture and if Arenado is kept, that means Walker is out there for next season -- along with Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Tommy Edman and O'Neill. Carlson's bat has never taken off, and he has regressed since 2021. He's still just 24, but he looks more like a fourth outfielder now than a future star. DeJong has bounced back at the plate after hitting .182 the past two seasons and is still a solid defender. I'm not sure there's an obvious fit for him on any contenders (maybe the Boston Red Sox if they decide to keep Trevor Story at second when he returns). O'Neill, meanwhile, is a change-of-scenery candidate, but he has really produced only in his big season in 2021.
Odds of trades: 1% for Arenado or Goldschmidt (never say never!), 50% for the others
Blake Snell/Josh Hader, San Diego Padres
Snell and Hader are both free agents and given the Padres' place in the standings, the pair probably should be traded, but the Padres no doubt still believe they're just one good stretch from being the superteam many thought they were back in March. Whether they're delusional about their playoff chances or not, they have so much invested in this season that they almost have to hope that a 20-5 stretch is yet to come. But even that kind of stretch wouldn't guarantee them a playoff spot.
In the end, maybe the offers will be too good to ignore. Snell leads the majors with his 2.50 ERA, including just five earned runs allowed over his past 11 starts. At the trade deadline, recent performance carries a lot of weight, and that would make Snell perhaps the top starter available. Hader is a clear difference-maker as that power lefty out of the bullpen. He had those initial struggles when he first got to San Diego last season, but he fixed those issues by the end of the season and has been as dominant as ever with a 0.90 ERA, 61 strikeouts and one home run in 39 innings. My one caveat on Hader: This is a guy who has averaged less than one inning per outing and has pitched just nine times all season on back-to-back days (although he has allowed no runs in those outings). Can he maintain his level throughout a deep postseason run?
Odds of trades: 25%
Marcus Stroman, Chicago Cubs
Two weeks ago, it looked like a sure thing that Stroman and Cody Bellinger would be traded as the Cubs were 43-50 and 8½ games out of first place. Then the Cubs climbed over .500 after a eight-game winning streak and now sit just four games out of first place -- and on Sunday the Cubs informed teams that Bellinger wouldn't be traded. What about Stroman? He has an opt-out clause that he's certain to exercise and looked like the top pitcher on the market when he had a 2.28 ERA, but since then his BABIP regressed and he has an 8.00 ERA over his past six starts. Even if the Cubs are still listening to offers, this recent stretch has hurt his trade value.
Odds of trade: 20%
Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals
Like his teammate Montgomery, Flaherty is heading into free agency and drawing a lot of interest. While Montgomery's numbers on the season are better overall, Flaherty is a guy I would love to roll the dice on. He has topped 100 innings for the first time since 2019, when he had that incredible second half and finished fourth in the Cy Young voting. Injuries have sapped some speed from his fastball, which has averaged 92.9 mph, but his curveball remains a nice swing-and-miss offering. Here's what's intriguing: The Cardinals have been a bad defensive team, and Flaherty has been the unluckiest of St. Louis starters, allowing a .346 BABIP. But when he's on, he's tough -- since May 15, he has four scoreless outings out of 12 starts -- and I'd love to see him with a better defense behind him.
Odds of trades: 85%
Eduardo Rodriguez/Michael Lorenzen, Detroit Tigers
Rodriguez has three years and $49 million left after this season on his original five-year deal with Detroit, but he also has an opt-out clause that he's likely to use because his performance this season (2.95 ERA, 3.18 FIP) will earn him a nice contract. Given that probability, it makes sense for the Tigers to trade him, and with all the teams that need rotation help, Detroit should be able to get an intriguing prospect in return.
Lorenzen is also a free agent and recently spun off three consecutive scoreless starts -- although they came against the offensively challenged Oakland Athletics, Mariners and Kansas City Royals. Rodriguez has a long track record that suggests he's not really this good, although he does have a career-low walk rate. He had an incredible six-start stretch in April and early May when he allowed two runs in 41⅔ innings, but he has a 4.91 ERA since then (while missing a month because of a finger injury). The Tigers aren't exactly eliminated from the American League Central race, but the odds are slim they can catch the Minnesota Twins (or Cleveland Guardians), so expect both pitchers to be traded.
Odds of trades: 80%
Tommy Pham New York Mets
The Mets have been quite busy and Pham could be the next name to go. He has had a nice season in a part-time role and projects as a platoon bat for a contender, either as a left fielder or DH, as he has slugged over .500 against left-handers.
Odds of trades: 99%
Logan Gilbert/George Kirby/Bryce Miller/Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners
Everyone keeps trying to trade one of the Mariners' young starters, and baseball ops president Jerry Dipoto hasn't exactly been shy about the team needing to upgrade the offense -- thus the rumors of trading a starting pitcher for some similarly controllable young position players. Kirby is unlikely to go, and Miller and Woo are unproven rookies. That leaves Gilbert, who has four seasons left of team control, as the proven top-of-the-rotation pitcher that a contending team -- say, the Baltimore Orioles, who have hitting prospects to spare -- might desire.
The only trouble with that theory is trading a starter just opens up a hole in the Mariners' rotation -- Robbie Ray is out for the season, and there is no timetable for if and when Marco Gonzales will return. They could promote Emerson Hancock from Double-A (as they've done this season with Miller and Woo), but that means trying to scratch out a playoff spot with three rookies in the rotation. Dipoto could play both sides here: Trade a starter for some young hitters and then add a veteran like Rich Hill to fill the gap for the remainder of the season.
Odds of trade: 25%
Rich Hill, Pittsburgh Pirates
Speaking of Hill -- has curveball, will travel. The 43-year-old lefty is a serviceable back-end starter who has a 4.82 ERA for the Pirates and will likely be joining his seventh team since 2019. That could be a return to the Boston Red Sox, his team in 2022, or the Tampa Bay Rays, where he pitched in 2021, as both teams are looking to add a starter for their injury-riddled rotations. A more intriguing name on the Pirates would be All-Star closer David Bednar, who has a 1.27 ERA and is 20-for-21 in save opportunities -- but he still has three years of team control remaining, so he'll cost more than teams are generally willing to give up for a reliever.
Odds of trade: 99%
The leftover Chicago White Sox: Tim Anderson, Yasmani Grandal ... Eloy Jimenez?
Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, Reynaldo Lopez and Kendall Graveman have already been traded, and the White Sox might continue to clean house. In Anderson's case, it would be hard to believe anybody even wants him, as he has been one of the worst regulars in the majors with minus-1.4 bWAR. He's hitting .245/.286/.293 with no home runs and bad defensive metrics. Given that he hit .300 the previous four seasons, it's hard to know what has happened here, but he has been so bad, the White Sox are likely to exercise their $1 million buyout rather than pay him $14 million next season. Grandal is a free agent and has been better (.251/.317/.382), but he's owed about $6 million in the final two months. Maybe the White Sox eat some money to get a decent prospect in return. While teams are reluctant to bring in a new catcher this late in a season, Grandal is a veteran and a team like the Marlins, who have a .561 OPS from their backstops, could use an upgrade.
And don't rule out Jimenez, although earlier reports out of Chicago had him as one of four untouchable veterans alongside Dylan Cease, Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Vaughn. He's signed through 2024 with club options for 2025 ($16.5 million) and 2026 ($18.5 million), but he's also injury prone and a lot less valuable as his salary starts to increase. He has never had a 2.0-WAR season, in part because of injuries, plus his best season came in 2020, so I think it makes sense to trade him if the White Sox are entering a rebuilding period.
Odds of trades: 70% for Grandal, 10% for Anderson and Jimenez