The free-agent market is moving barely faster than a Molina brother, but the trade front has been hopping with activity. In the last three weeks, there have been four deals involving difference-making big leaguers for youngsters either featured on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list or recently graduated from it.
The Mariners have been part of three of those deals, shipping James Paxton to the Yankees for left-hander Justus Sheffield and two more prospects; Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to the Mets for a five-player package highlighted by outfielder Jarred Kelenic and right-hander Justin Dunn; and Jean Segura and a pair of relievers to the Phillies for shortstop J.P. Crawford and veteran Carlos Santana. The Cardinals also got in on the act, landing Paul Goldschmidt from the Diamondbacks in exchange for Carson Kelly, Luke Weaver and second-base prospect Andy Young.
With all 30 teams convening at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas for the Winter Meetings Sunday through Thursday, more deals could be afoot. Last year in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., the Marlins divested themselves of 96 home runs worth of outfielders when they sent Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees and Marcell Ozuna to the Cardinals.
Miami will be engaged in lots of trade talk again, with seemingly half the teams in baseball pursuing J.T. Realmuto. And given his history, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto probably can't go five days without swapping some players.
Which contenders could make moves? Here are 10 clubs with a realistic chance to win in 2019 and farm systems with enticing trade fodder:
Astros
Top 100 Prospects: 4
Top-rated prospect: OF Kyle Tucker (No. 5)
Right-hander Forrest Whitley (No. 7 on the Top 100), the best pitching prospect in baseball, may be untouchable but almost anyone else could be fair game. Tucker has been mentioned prominently in Realmuto discussions and righty J.B. Bukauskas reportedly would have gone to the Nationals in a deadline deal for Bryce Harper if Washington hadn't pulled out. The Astros have a deep farm system and few holes on a big league club primed to win a World Series, so they could be ready to trade.
Athletics
Top 100 Prospects: 3
Top-rated prospect: LHP Jesus Luzardo (No. 12)
The low-revenue A's may not prefer to give up young talent, but they may need to in order to plug holes in their rotation. While they won't want to part with left-handers Luzardo or A.J. Puk, they have enough depth in infield (Jorge Mateo, Sheldon Neuse, Eli White) and outfield (Kyler Murray, Austin Beck, Lazaro Armenteros, Jameson Hannah) prospects to pull off a mid-level move.
Braves
Top 100 Prospects: 10
Top-rated prospect: RHP Mike Soroka (No. 20)
No team has more Top 100 Prospects and no contender has more young arms to trade than the Braves. Their stock of precocious pitching includes right-handers Soroka, Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, Touki Toussaint and Bryse Wilson and left-handers Max Fried, Luiz Gohara, Kolby Allard, Joey Wentz and Kyle Muller. The emergence of Johan Camargo and the signing of Josh Donaldson could make third-base prospect Austin Riley somewhat redundant.
Brewers
Top 100 Prospects: 1
Top-rated prospect: 2B Keston Hiura (No. 30)
In the last year, the Brewers have parlayed prospects into a blockbuster for eventual National League MVP Christian Yelich as well as smaller in-season trades for six other members of their NL Championship Series roster. The system isn't as deep as it used to be and second baseman of the near future Hiura may be untouchable, but Milwaukee still has intriguing prospects such as outfielder Corey Ray, shortstop Brice Turang and right-hander Zack Brown.
Cardinals
Top 100 Prospects: 3
Top-rated prospect: RHP Alex Reyes (No. 36)
Looking to end their three-year playoff drought, their longest since 1997-99, the Cardinals barely touched their system when they dealt for Goldschmidt. They still have a slew of ready- or nearly-ready-for-the-Majors prospects they can afford to trade: right-handers Dakota Hudson and Ryan Helsley, catcher Andrew Knizner and outfielders Randy Arozarena and Justin Williams.
Dodgers
Top 100 Prospects: 4
Top-rated prospect: OF Alex Verdugo (No. 32)
After coming up short in consecutive World Series, the Dodgers are linked to several possible big moves that might catapult them to their first championship since 1988, including signing Harper as a free agent or trading for two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber. They have several attractive trade pieces in their system, starting with the sweet-swinging Verdugo, who has no clear path to playing time in Los Angeles. The Dodgers also have more quality catching prospects than any organization (Keibert Ruiz, Will Smith, Diego Cartaya, Connor Wong) and plenty of live arms (starting with Dustin May and Dennis Santana).
Phillies
Top 100 Prospects: 3
Top-rated prospect: RHP Sixto Sanchez (No. 21)
Compared to a young Pedro Martinez but sidelined for much of 2018 by inflammation, Sanchez got mentioned in the talks that resulted in the Segura trade and also has been named as part of potential deals for Realmuto and Madison Bumgarner. After bursting into contention in the first four months of last season before collapsing down the stretch, the Phillies are highly motivated to bolster their big league team. If Sanchez is available in the right deal, then none of their prospects are off limits, including their last two first-rounders (third baseman Alec Bohm, outfielder Adam Haseley) plus right-hander Adonis Medina and lefty JoJo Romero.
Rays
Top 100 Prospects: 5
Top-rated prospect: SS Wander Franco (No. 14)
The Rays not only are coming off a surprising 90-win season but also have one of the game's best farm systems. Even if it's difficult to envision them parting with Franco or left-hander/first baseman Brendan McKay, they still have plenty of ammunition to pull off more trades after dealing for Mike Zunino last month. Tampa Bay has a surplus of middle-infield prospects with Lucius Fox, Brandon Lowe, Nick Solak and Vidal Brujan, not to mention plenty of pitching after adding Matthew Liberatore and Shane McClanahan via the Draft and Shane Baz in the Chris Archer trade this summer.
Rockies
Top 100 Prospects: 3
Top-rated prospect: INF Brendan Rodgers (No. 9)
The Rockies have an abundance of young infielders and not nearly enough room for Rodgers, Ryan McMahon, Garrett Hampson and Josh Fuentes, who are all ready now, not to mention Colton Welker, Ryan Vilade, Grant Lavigne, Tyler Nevin and Terrin Vavra, who require more development. Fuentes and Nevin impressed evaluators in the Arizona Fall League, as did outfielder Sam Hilliard and right-hander Justin Lawrence.
Yankees
Top 100 Prospects: 3
Top-rated prospect: Estevan Florial (No. 45)
The Yankees already included Sheffield in the Paxton deal and still need more pitching after losing out in the Patrick Corbin and Nathan Eovaldi sweepstakes, so it's fair to assume that any prospect is available in the right trade. The system is pitching-heavy behind Florial, and right-handers Jonathan Loaisiga, Albert Abreu, Domingo Acevedo and Trevor Stephan -- among others -- are extra attractive because they're close to being ready for the big leagues.