10 teams with willingness, prospects to make moves at the Trade Deadline

The Trade Deadline is quickly approaching and more teams than ever are in the hunt for a playoff spot. So, which organization is going to make that move, that not only grabs the headlines but puts their team in position for a run to the World Series?

On the latest MLB Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo -- with host Jason Ratliff -- break down which teams are best positioned to make such a deal. The criteria for this discussion included: teams with the ability to make this type of trade -- you can't acquire generational talent without a strong farm system -- and the willingness to make a deal.

When the gurus made these predictions last year, all 10 teams they chose traded prospects from their respective Top 30 lists at the Deadline in 2025. You may also notice some overlap as six of the 10 teams on this year's list appeared last year -- the newcomers being the Rays, Guardians, Cardinals and Pirates.

Here is the complete breakdown for 2026:

Dodgers

Callis: This will shock everybody … the Los Angeles Dodgers. I mean, they're the model franchise at the big league level. They've won the last two World Series, they've won three of the last six. They look like they're in position to certainly try to make it three in a row this year. They have one of the very best, if not the best, farm systems in baseball. And they don't have places for all of these guys to play. I mean, if you just start with outfielders, they've got six outfielders, if you count James Tibbs III as an outfielder -- which I do -- on the top 100, and Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota, Zyhir Hope, Eduardo Quintero, Charles Davalan. And when I checked, I think you can only play three outfielders. So, they have many more outfielders than they could possibly play. Plus, they have depth in pitching. You know, River Ryan, who's basically ready but kind of blocked. Christian Zazueta is up and coming. Zach Root has looked very good since they drafted him last year. Emil Morales, the shortstop, kind of gets overshadowed by some of these guys. But they just have depth that they could trade.

They could trade three or four Top 100 prospects and still have one of the best farm systems in baseball. I just think given that their goal is win the World Series or it's a disappointing year, and they have a farm system that's stacked. Any player who would be on the trade market, they can make the best offer if it's a guy they want.

Mariners

Mayo: They're leading the AL West, and they're only a game over .500. The interesting thing about their farm system is that it's very top heavy. They've got six Top 100 guys, even with Colt Emerson graduating. And then there's a bit of a drop off. There are some interesting players, but it's not as deep as the Dodgers’ list. But could they use one of those top six to bring in something big? I could see them doing it.

Their big league rotation is pretty well-stocked. Would they trade a Ryan Sloan? You know, I don't think they'd be running around shopping him, but he is the kind of name that is interesting. I think in another organization, Kade Anderson would be in the big leagues already, so that just shows you the depth that they have at the big league level in terms of their starting staff. Now, Anderson and Sloan could conceivably help the Mariners pitching staff before the year is over, so I wouldn't circle Ryan Sloan as a guy who's definitely going to be traded. But they do have pieces and they're all at the upper levels now, all six of their Top 100 guys are Double-A or higher. So, if you're a team that's rebuilding and you want a guy who might be able to help sooner rather than later, the Mariners might be a good team to call.

Brewers

Callis: The Brewers have one of the best records in baseball. And the Brewers are interesting because they obviously have an entirely different level of financial resources compared to the Dodgers. But, I do think they're in position to make a trade if they want. I don't think they're gonna go out and get [Tigers ace Tarik] Skubal or anything like that, but it's a winning team. The Brewers have been consistent winners in baseball recently, they just haven't broke through to the World Series. So I think that's in the back of their minds to some extent. They're overloaded with infielders. Just on the Top 100, they have Jesús Made, Luis Peña, Cooper Pratt, Jett Williams and Andrew Fischer is just off the fringes of it.

They have a bunch of position players to trade, so they could trade from that surplus without really wreaking havoc on their farm system. They could use some pitching, even though they do have the best record in baseball, maybe to put them over the top and get to the World Series.

Yankees

Mayo: In terms of farm system strength, they are not nearly as high as these other teams that we have discussed. Yes, they're willing to trade what they do have and I think the question that comes up: is anybody untouchable? I think the answer is probably no.

It seems less likely that George Lombard Jr., their No. 1 prospect, gets traded. But I don't think they would completely refuse to do that. After that, I think there are some arms that are kind of interesting. Carlos Lagrange could help a team out [when healthy]. If you're rebuilding, you could give him a shot to see what it looks like. You know, maybe a guy like Henry Lalane, who's a 6-foot-7 lefty, a little bit further down in the system, would have interest. They've got Ben Hess in their top five. Elmer Rodríguez has been in the big leagues. There's other guys who are close to or are big league ready that teams could consider. I feel like Spencer Jones, his name has been coming up in trade possibilities for the last couple of years because I think they’re not sure what to do with him. But for a team out of the race, might be willing to give him a chance. The Yankees have shown and will continue to show a readiness and willingness to trade whatever they have to help them get back to the World Series.

Rays

Callis: The Rays have the best record in the American League, although things have tightened up a little bit for them. And they have less financial resources than the Brewers, who I just discussed.

But they have a very deep farm system. They're very resourceful. They're the type of team that we might see make trades and acquire a prospect in the right move and then acquire a veteran for some of their prospects. But they have a pretty well balanced system in terms of arms and bats. I hate using the word untouchable because in the right deal is anybody really untouchable? But Theo Gillen is one of the best prospects in baseball. I don't know that they would move him.

But they have Nathan Flewelling, who was just MVP of the Futures Game and he's a catcher. He's their No. 2 prospect. Caden Bodine, who they acquired in an offseason trade, who's hit .326 in his first year in pro ball last year and .356 through 79 games this year. So they have some catching depth. I'm not saying that they're looking to trade Daniel Pierce, last year's first-round pick, but they just drafted Grady Emerson No. 2 overall, who's another high school shortstop. So theoretically you could part with Pierce in the right deal. Not that, you know, guys don't move positions. But, I just think it's a creative front office with a deep farm system and the best record in the American League. So, my suspicion is that the Rays may not make a blockbuster, but I bet they make a couple of moves to improve their team between now and the Trade Deadline.

Cubs

Mayo: I think one of the questions that comes up is when you're in a Wild Card race or not leading the division, does that alter your willingness to kind of go all in or put all your chips in to try to win? They're leading the National League Wild Card race currently, narrowly over the Phillies, but they're far behind the Brewers in the NL Central. I don't know if it matters that much because they are now positioned to make the playoffs and they do have some pieces in their farm system that they could trade without necessarily giving up a Jefferson Rojas or a Josiah Hartshorn, their top two prospects. But, you've got a guy like Jaxon Wiggins, who's still working his way back but he's in Triple-A. You've got guys like Jonathon Long and James Triantos. Owen Ayers has jumped onto the scene, probably deserves a big league opportunity, but they all have some question marks. So, I think that this wouldn't be a blockbuster kind of deal, but I could see them piecing together some of their lesser-known prospects without giving up their top guys to add what they feel is needed at the big league level.

Guardians

Callis: They've been the most consistent winner in the AL Central over the past decade or so. And they never spent a lot of money on big league payroll, but their farm system is consistently productive and they continually fill guys in. I feel like they always could use more offensive firepower because they get to the playoffs and then they have trouble scoring runs against better pitching. So maybe there's a trade to go out and get some more dangerous bats to fill out the lineup. But again, another deep farm system, I think it's more hitters than pitchers, in terms of their system, although they do have some young arms like Braylon Doughty and Joey Oakie.

It seems like every year when we rank who had the best drafts, I always seem to wind up ranking the Guardians and I thought they had another strong effort this year. So again, they're not wired to make a blockbuster. They're not wired to pick up a huge amount of payroll. But I think this year, since it's a lot different situation than last year, where they're only a game out -- they're definitely in contention at this point, and they probably will go out and make, again, not blockbusters, but I'll bet they move three or four prospects and pick up a couple of pieces for the big league club.

Cardinals

Mayo: They’re in the same kind of boat as the Cubs with maybe less certainty. They're in a three-way tie for the last Wild Card spot. You know, they turned the team over in some regards to some younger players. I don't know that they're surprised to be in this spot, but I think it's encouraging. They could probably use some offensive help if they wanted to do something. And they do have a good farm system with a lot of players at the higher levels. I don't know that they're quite ready to flip the switch from having brought in prospects recently. Bringing in Jurrangelo Cijntje from the Mariners, for instance. But, what is it? Their top six prospects are all Double-A or higher. I tend to like to look at teams that have those prospects who are just about ready to contribute to a team they might go to. And they have that.

I don't think they're going to trade Rainiel Rodriguez or Liam Doyle, or maybe even Joshua Báez. I don't think that those guys who lean more towards ‘untouchable’ would be traded. I think they'd rather hold onto those guys and see if they can help them, either down the stretch or next year. I think by this time next year, they could be in a position to be competing at the top of the NL Central, where then maybe they'll be willing to make a big trade splash.

Red Sox

Callis: The Red Sox are hard to figure out because they were having a terrible season. As we record this, they've won 14 games in a row. So, which team is the real team? And they seem to have plenty of pitching, but the lineup has not been very good in large part because of injuries. So will they go out and get a bat, or do they feel like maybe some guys come back from injuries and they'll get a boost that way? They've had some guys in their system make steps forward, like Franklin Arias and Anthony Eyanson, who I don't necessarily think they'd like to trade, especially if it's not a blockbuster. And then it seems like beyond those guys, outside of maybe a Franklin Primera, a lot of their guys have not really boosted their prospect stock. So I don't know that they have, it's kind of a middle-of-the-pack system. It's a really hard big league team to figure out, but it's Boston. I think there's gonna be a huge cry if after winning, you know, getting on this streak to get back in the playoff race, they don't try to do something to help the team.

It's funny, if we did this podcast a month ago, and it was which teams are most likely to be sellers, it would have been the Red Sox with Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray, maybe Jarren Duran and Aroldis Chapman and you would have thought, 'OK, they're gonna haul in a bunch of prospects. They might haul in more prospects than anybody.' And now it looks like they're going in the opposite direction.

Pirates

Mayo: Maybe this is wishful thinking, but it's funny, we were talking about the Chapman trade and then realizing that there had been another closer for top prospect trade when Mason Miller went to the Padres last year. This is the spot where it's clear what the Pirates need more than anything else -- bullpen help.

Now that could come in a variety of forms. They could try to find some just good setup type men that may not cost them high end prospects. Or is Mason Miller actually available? I mean, A.J. Preller is liable to do anything with the Padres.

You know, they are only 2 1/2 back of the Wild Card themselves, but there's a lot of teams in front of them. And trading Mason Miller with all his years of control is something I could see Preller considering. Now, I don't know what it would take. I would not trade Seth Hernandez, but I would maybe consider trading Edward Florentino or someone of that ilk. Murf Gray, who just entered our Top 100, probably has a lot of people paying attention. For me, anybody but Seth Hernandez could be available because if they add a Mason Miller to that bullpen then this is a team that could do some damage because of their pitching and their offense has been one of the best in the National League.