We’re just a few days out from this year's Trade Deadline -- 6 p.m. ET on Monday -- and a number of high-profile names are being tossed around the rumor mill.
We don’t know where those players will go, at least not yet. But we do have thoughts on where they should go.
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Here are ideal destinations for seven of the Deadline’s most intriguing targets, beginning with Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.
All stats through play on Tuesday, unless otherwise noted.
The target: Tarik Skubal, SP, Tigers
The buyer: Brewers
Jacob Misiorowski is the best pitcher on the planet. Can you imagine pairing Tarik Skubal, the reigning two-time AL Cy Young Award champion, with The Miz?
The Brewers are once again one of baseball’s best teams and could realistically lead the Majors in wins for a second straight year. But as we saw last October, when the Dodgers’ star-studded roster swept Milwaukee in four games in the NLCS, the Brewers could benefit from making a big splash to give them an extra edge.
What better option than Skubal? The Tigers lefty missed roughly six weeks earlier this season after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow, but he’s been dominant nonetheless. Including his latest outing on Wednesday, Skubal has a 2.79 ERA with 116 strikeouts and just 14 walks in 96 2/3 innings across 16 starts, and has looked sharp of late, too.
Even though Skubal is a rental, the price will still be fairly costly. Luckily, the Brewers and Tigers match up quite well in a trade. Milwaukee has the young, controllable pitching and high-end prospects that Detroit reportedly covets. While MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 prospect Jesús Made and 24-year-old Logan Henderson are likely off the table, there’s a framework for a deal.
The target: Mason Miller, RP, Padres
The buyer: Pirates
Among players not named Tarik Skubal, Miller is the hottest name swirling in the rumor mill. That's certainly for good reason. The two-time All-Star is baseball's best closer, with a mere 0.81 ERA and a gaudy 49.1% strikeout rate across 43 brilliant appearances.
Every contender seems to want bullpen help these days, but Miller stands alone as the prize. He is the sort of player capable of changing a team's trajectory come October, someone who will shorten games.
When it comes down to a fit, why not the Pirates? Pittsburgh is desperate to end a 10-year playoff drought and, thanks to a fun young core and some shrewd offseason moves, the franchise is firmly in the mix for a postseason spot. The Pirates sure could use a right-handed reliever; the club recently cut ties with its Opening Day closer, Dennis Santana, after he pitched to a 6.05 ERA in 44 games.
The price to land Miller would be incredibly steep -- remember, at last year's Deadline, the Padres parted ways with shortstop Leo De Vries, currently MLB Pipeline's No. 2 prospect. San Diego is said to be looking for a two-tiered package of elite prospects and big-league ready talent. The Pirates can match that, but they may have to get uncomfortable. Would right-handed pitcher Seth Hernandez (No. 6 overall) be on the table? Or how about second-year hurler Bubba Chandler? Outfielder Edward Florentino (No. 28) could also headline a deal, but the 19-year-old is only in High-A and would have to be packaged with starting pitching to meet the Padres' reported asking price. -- Jared Greenspan
The target: CJ Abrams, SS, Nationals
The buyer: Yankees
The Yankees have an excess of arms, especially in the rotation with Max Fried back and Carlos Rodón likely to return soon. What they lack -- in a BIG way -- is offense, especially with injuries to Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and most recently Cody Bellinger.
Abrams, who is slashing .294/.366/.565 for a 154 OPS+ with an MLB-high 82 RBIs plus 19 steals in his second All-Star campaign, would provide pop and speed at a position of need. Former top prospect Anthony Volpe has continued to underwhelm at short, and José Caballero fits better as a utility type who can fill in around the diamond. As a bonus, Abrams is under team control through 2028, so he would handle a middle-infield spot now and in the future.
The cost for such a star? Steep. The Yankees could headline a package with one of their infielders of the future in George Lombard Jr. (MLB Pipeline's No. 20 overall prospect) or Dax Kilby (No. 58), as either player would help replace Abrams in Washington. Add in a big league-ready outfielder like Spencer Jones or Jasson Domínguez, plus a young arm or two in Carlos Lagrange (No. 73), Elmer Rodríguez (No. 79), Henry Lalane and/or Ben Hess. If the Nationals prefer an MLB starter instead, they could ask for Ryan Weathers or Will Warren.
Point is, there would be options abound for a Nationals team that has surprised this season, but still must consider building toward the future. For the Yankees, they’re in it to win it in a wide-open AL, and Abrams would be a big lift. -- Jason Catania
The target: Reid Detmers, SP, Angels
The buyer: White Sox
This season, there are few stories as fun and surprising as the White Sox. After losing 100 games in three consecutive years, Chicago has turned things around drastically, sitting 1 1/2 games up on the second-place Guardians in the AL Central.
One of the clearest paths to improving this year’s club is by upgrading the rotation. The White Sox have received a 4.35 ERA from their starters, which ranks in the bottom half in the Majors. At the same time, the club may not want to break up a promising young core by dealing significant prospect capital for rentals.
So, enter Detmers.
The Angels lefty is just 27 and will not be a free agent until 2029. While he currently has a 4.02 ERA, he’s shown multiple flashes of dominance in 2026, striking out at least nine batters in five different starts. He boasts a nasty slider and curveball that have led him to a 28.3% strikeout rate this year, 10th highest among qualified pitchers.
The White Sox may not be willing to part with infielder Caleb Bonemer (MLB Pipeline's No. 16 overall prospect), but they do have a surplus of young infielders. Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, Miguel Vargas and Munetaka Murakami lock down the big leagues, while Bonemer and 2026 No. 1 overall pick Roch Cholowsky are waiting in the wings. Perhaps 2025 first-rounder Billy Carlson (the organization's No. 3 prospect) could headline a deal.
The price will be high, and the Angels have to be willing to move Detmers in the first place. But this could be a dream fit. -- Max Ralph
The target: Luis Arraez, 2B, Giants
The buyer: Rays
Arraez is in hot pursuit of his fourth batting title, with a .325 batting average that ranks second in the National League behind Miami’s Otto Lopez. His trademark bat-to-ball skills are still elite, touting the lowest strikeout rate (4.5%) and whiff rate (7.9%) among qualified hitters.
There’s a little more value here than in year’s past, too. Arraez has already accumulated 3.6 fWAR, surpassing his previous single-season high of 3.4 fWAR in ‘23. That’s in large part because of his glove. Under the tutelage of infield coach Ron Washington, Arraez moved to second base and promptly ranks in the 98th percentile of MLB with +10 outs above average.
Meanwhile, the Rays are looking for a bat to complement their “Big Three” of Yandy Díaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero, and the keystone has been a weak spot. Tampa Bay second basemen have combined for a 91 wRC+. They’re projected to have the 24th-best-rest-of-season production at second base, per FanGraphs. Arraez would certainly change that. Here’s something else fun: Tampa Bay owns the lowest strikeout rate in the Majors, at 19.1%. Arraez would make this contact-oriented lineup even more frustrating for opposing pitchers.
The Rays are expected to be aggressive at the Deadline, benefitting from a talented farm system. There’s a lot of upper-level depth in the Minors, with a number of prospects nearing eligibility for the Rule 5 Draft. That includes right-handers Brody Hopkins (the organization’s No. 5 prospect) and Michael Forret (No. 7), among others. Maybe Tampa Bay packages a few together for Arraez, who will be a free agent at year’s end. -- Jared Greenspan
The target: Kevin Gausman, SP, Blue Jays
The buyer: Braves
We were tempted to send Gausman to the Dodgers here, and give their rotation every splitter known to man between him, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and (hopefully) Shohei Ohtani. But the Braves are just more pitching-needy, so instead, we're going with a reunion with Atlanta.
Yes, in case you forgot, the Braves traded for Gausman once before, allllll the way back at the 2018 Trade Deadline, when they got him from the Orioles. Gausman was actually quite good for the Braves down the stretch that season -- and that was long before he turned into a frontline starter with Toronto.
But let's fast-forward to the present. This isn't Gausman's best season (4-10, 4.51 ERA, 123 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings), but as a rental, he makes a lot of sense for a first-place Braves team in dire need of a proven arm to pitch behind Chris Sale. As president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said recently: "It's been pretty obvious that if there's a playoff-caliber starter out there, we would jump at that."
So what's the going price for a 35-year-old pitcher who's had an up-and-down year but has a great track record and was a difference-maker for a pennant-winning team last October? If the Blue Jays want to replenish their pitching with younger arms, Atlanta has a pool of six Triple-A pitchers ranked between its No. 7 and 15 prospects -- Owen Murphy, Lucas Braun, Herick Hernandez, Blake Burkhalter, Drue Hackenberg and Rolddy Muñoz -- that it could deal from. -- David Adler
The target: Luis Robert Jr., OF, Mets
The buyer: Phillies
Robert is three years removed from an All-Star campaign in 2023, when he hit .264 with 38 home runs, 20 steals and an .857 OPS for the White Sox and appeared to be an emerging star. In the three years since, though, he has posted a .660 OPS between a slew of injuries. It’s hard to say if Robert, whom the Mets acquired during the offseason for infielder Luisangel Acuña and Minor League pitcher Truman Pauley, will ever get back to his previous form.
If he does, though, a trade would be an investment worth making for the Phillies, who have long been seeking help in their outfield. Rookie center fielder Justin Crawford (73 OPS+) hasn’t provided much offensively, and although Robert’s numbers aren’t a lot better, he at least offers some power and is a good fit as a right-handed batter on a lefty-heavy club. Combined, Philadelphia's right-handed hitters have a .646 OPS that ranks dead last in the Majors.
Robert has only played 31 games this season because of lumbar spine disc herniation, and he has a $20 million club option for 2027 (with a $2 million buyout, if the option is not exercised). Those factors, in addition to his underperformance at the plate, should lower his trade cost considerably. A potential package could include a couple of prospects ranked in the Nos. 7-12 range in a relatively weak Phillies farm system, such as right-hander Moisés Chace (the Phillies’ No. 9 prospect) or outfielder Griffin Burkholder (No. 12). -- Theo DeRosa