With less than four weeks remaining until the Trade Deadline, the list of buyers and sellers remains as cloudy as ever. All but six teams in the Majors entered play Thursday within 5 1/2 games of a playoff spot, including eight with sub-.500 records.
The common theme among the vast majority of them? The need for starting pitching.
2026 Trade Deadline: Aug. 3, 6 p.m. ET
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The league-average ERA among starters is 4.26, though only nine clubs have rotations carrying a mark lower than 4.00. Of the 18 clubs with a rotation ERA higher than league average, 12 are part of that 24-team playoff picture, meaning that a number of teams that could be buyers in the coming weeks will be on the hunt for a starting pitcher or two (or perhaps three?).
“Every team needs a starter,” one American League executive said. “They’re the easiest players to move at the Deadline and often, [they're] the ones that bring back the best return.”
For some of the league’s top teams, a combination of health (Dodgers, Braves, Yankees) and workload issues (Brewers, Rays) could prompt them to look for rotation additions. A handful of surprise contenders (Nationals, Cardinals, Marlins) could look to bolster their respective staffs if they hope to punch a ticket to October.
Truth be told, you can make a legitimate argument for every potential buyer to be in the market for a starting pitcher, which is why the sellers with arms to move are likely to receive healthy returns when all is said and done. It’s a simple case of supply and demand.
Which starting pitchers could be on the move between now and Aug. 3? Let’s take a look at a dozen names (listed alphabetically) that we could be talking about for the next three-plus weeks.
Sandy Alcantara, RHP, Marlins
Contract status: Under club control through the 2027 season
Another year, another batch of Alcantara trade rumors. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner is in his second season back after Tommy John surgery, leading the Majors in 2026 with 123 2/3 innings. Although his 4.00 ERA isn’t close to the 2.28 he posted in his Cy Young season, the 30-year-old is 7-0 with a 2.98 ERA over his past seven starts, regaining his fastball (he’s in the 91st percentile in velocity) while ranking in the upper third of the league in walk percentage and hard-hit percentage and the 65th percentile in ground-ball percentage this season.
The Marlins entered Thursday tied for the second NL Wild Card spot, so it’s quite possible Miami doesn’t sell at all despite being ahead of schedule, but with only a $21 million club option for 2027 remaining before Alcantara becomes a free agent, this could be the time to pull the trigger on a trade if the Marlins can get controllable talent in return.
Reid Detmers, LHP, Angels
Contract status: Under club control through the 2028 season
The Angels are going nowhere fast, their 36-56 record ranking last in the AL. Detmers is having a solid year, entering his start on Thursday with a 4.13 ERA and 117 strikeouts over 104 2/3 innings in his return to a starting role after spending 2025 in the bullpen.
The 27-year-old is owed the balance of his $2.625 million in 2026 and will be arbitration-eligible for two more seasons, and while interim general manager John Mozeliak could view him as a rotation piece moving forward, the Angels could also opt to go into a full rebuild, capitalizing on any trade opportunities that present themselves this summer.
Sonny Gray, RHP, Red Sox
Contract status: Free agent after the 2026 season
A three-time All-Star, Gray was inexplicably left off of this year’s AL squad despite a 10-1 record and 2.61 ERA in his first 16 starts of 2026. Despite the snub, Gray may be one of the three best arms available leading up to the Deadline, though he comes with a lofty $35 million salary in 2026, meaning an acquiring club will be on the hook for approximately $16-18 million for the rest of the season. Gray also has a $30 million club option for 2027 with a $5 million buyout, though if the option is exercised, Gray can opt out of the deal to become a free agent.
The 36-year-old has pitched in three postseasons during his career, posting a 3.26 ERA in six October starts. The Red Sox are only 2 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot despite their 43-48 record, so how Boston fares in the coming weeks could determine whether Gray -- who has said he is open to waiving his no-trade clause in the right scenario -- could be on the move.
Foster Griffin, LHP, Nationals
Contract status: Free agent after the 2026 season
Like the Marlins, the Nationals are ahead of schedule, contending for a Wild Card spot in the first year under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. Washington appears unlikely to trade away controllable core players such as CJ Abrams, but Griffin -- who signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Nats after spending the past three seasons in Japan -- could be the ultimate risk-reward signing.
The 30-year-old lefty is 10-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 19 starts, but he’s due to become a free agent after the season, so unless the Nationals expect to sign him to a long-term deal, flipping him for young, controllable players could be the right move even if they’re in contention for a postseason berth.
Seth Lugo, RHP, Royals
Contract status: Under club control through the 2028 season
Kansas City is having a disappointing 2026, entering Friday with a 38-56 record that has them 9 games out of the final AL Wild Card spot. The Royals could look to move Lugo, who was pitching to an ERA in the mid-3.00s for much of the season before suffering a concussion on June 10. In four starts since his return, the 36-year-old has a 7.17 ERA, bloating his season mark to 4.56.
Lugo is owed the balance of his $20 million salary this season, plus $20 million in 2027, with a $17 million club option for 2028 ($3 million buyout). The option becomes guaranteed at $20 million if he throws 190 innings in 2027 or 335 innings in 2026-27. He isn’t necessarily the ace some teams may be seeking, but Lugo has proven he can be a solid mid-rotation arm for a contender.
Casey Mize, RHP, Tigers
Contract status: Free agent after the 2026 season
Tarik Skubal will rightfully garner most of the attention during this trade season, but his Tigers rotation-mate should draw plenty of interest from contenders around the league in the coming weeks. Mize has a 2.64 ERA for the Tigers this season and ranks in the top 30% of the league in walk percentage, whiff percentage, strikeout percentage and hard-hit percentage, putting him on track for the best season of his six-year career in Detroit.
The first overall selection in the 2018 Draft, Mize is earning $6.15 million this season and will be a free agent this fall, so if the Tigers decide to sell -- they entered Thursday trailing the White Sox by 5 1/2 games and were four games out of the final AL Wild Card spot -- they will have an asset that both big- and small-market teams will covet as they look to add to their rotations.
Freddy Peralta, RHP, Mets
Contract status: Free agent after the 2026 season
The Mets’ season has been nothing short of a disaster, with New York’s 40-54 mark leaving the club jockeying with the Giants and Rockies for the NL’s worst record. After posting career-bests in ERA (2.70) and bWAR (5.5) last year, Peralta has a 4.68 ERA with a 0.1 bWAR, throwing fewer than six innings in 13 of his 19 starts in 2026.
The 30-year-old is owed the balance of his $8 million salary for the rest of 2026, after which he will become a free agent. He hasn’t been the ace the Mets were hoping they acquired last winter, but a move to a contender could help the right-hander regain some of his value as he heads to the open market.
Robbie Ray, LHP, Giants
Contract status: Free agent after the 2026 season
Ray’s peripherals aren’t pretty; the left-hander ranks in the bottom 30% of the league in walk percentage, ground-ball rate, fastball velocity, barrel percentage and chase percentage, but the 34-year-old has been effective nonetheless, going 8-6 with a 3.45 ERA in 101 2/3 innings for the Giants, his lowest ERA since his 2021 AL Cy Young Award season.
Ray -- an All-Star in 2025 -- is earning $25 million in the final year of his contract, and if San Francisco is willing to pick up part of his remaining salary, there should be a number of contenders open to adding him to the middle of their rotation for the stretch run.
Joe Ryan, RHP, Twins
Contract status: Under club control through the 2027 season
Ryan is having the best season of his six-year career, going 6-5 with a 2.85 ERA in his first 19 starts of 2026. The Twins are 46-48, but they remain only two games back in the AL Central and one game out of a Wild Card spot, so they could wind up being buyers before all is said and done.
Ryan has a $13 million mutual option ($100,000 buyout) for next season, but he will be arbitration-eligible if it is declined by either side, as is the likely scenario. Given that the 30-year-old will be due a healthy raise next winter in his final year of arbitration, Minnesota could look to move him a year ahead of free agency in exchange for younger, more cost-controlled talent.
Tarik Skubal, LHP, Tigers
Contract status: Free agent after the 2026 season
The prize of this year’s trade market, Skubal seems likely to be traded unless the Tigers can orchestrate a turnaround over the next three weeks. Skubal is 5-4 with a 3.06 ERA in 12 starts this season, but more importantly, the left-hander has looked solid since his return from minor elbow surgery last month.
The two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner, who is owed the balance of his $32 million salary this season, is expected to command a huge contract in free agency. Given that the Tigers are unlikely to re-sign him, trading him for a hefty return would seem to be the move rather than settling for a compensatory Draft pick if/when he signs elsewhere.
José Soriano, RHP, Angels
Contract status: Under club control through the 2028 season
Like Detmers, Soriano is under control for two-plus seasons, though the right-hander has come back to Earth after his incredible start to 2026 (5-0, 0.24 ERA in his first six outings). Soriano has a 5.14 ERA over his past 13 starts, though he still ranks in the top-10 percentile of the league in both whiff percentage and ground-ball percentage. With a reasonable $2.9 million salary this season and two more years of arbitration eligibility remaining, the 27-year-old might be the Angels’ best trade chip.
Michael Wacha, RHP, Royals
Contract status: Under club control through the 2028 season
Another arm the Royals can move, Wacha has a 3.45 ERA in an AL-high 119 1/3 innings this season. The 35-year-old is owed the balance of his $18 million salary this season, plus $14 million in 2027 and a $14 million club option for 2028 ($1 million buyout). The right-hander has been a consistent rotation presence since 2022, posting a 3.51 ERA for the Red Sox, Padres and Royals in 126 starts over the past four-plus seasons.
A team willing to take on the salaries of Lugo or Wacha likely wouldn’t have to give up a ton of prospect capital, making them intriguing options for pitching-needy clubs. Kansas City could also opt to eat some of the salary if it meant getting a better return of young, controllable players.