With Monday’s trade deadline fast approaching, Major League Baseball’s trade market is in the calm before the storm as the sport awaits a flurry of weekend activity.
We saw some notable names move earlier in the week, but with players such as Tarik Skubal and Mason Miller surfacing in trade rumours, it feels as though some seismic deals could materialize before Monday’s 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT deadline.
One player who appears likely to move is New York Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta, who hasn’t delivered on the promise he showed before landing in Queens this past off-season.
But that 4.99 ERA isn’t quite scaring teams away, according to The Athletic’s Will Sammon. On Wednesday night, Sammon reported that “a lot of teams have checked in on Peralta” and that “officials from multiple teams see Peralta as a puzzle they can solve with usage changes or pitch shape adjustments.”
Just one season after finishing fifth in National League Cy Young voting, the 30-year-old Peralta just hasn’t been able to put things together with the Mets. Not only has his ERA ballooned, but his strikeout rate has dropped by over six per cent and his batting average against has climbed from .191 to .261.
While the drop-off in New York has been confounding, Peralta nonetheless has several clubs that profile as potential landing spots. Sammon wrote Wednesday that the Tampa Bay Rays are interested, that the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs “checked in,” and that the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks sent scouts to the pending free agent’s start on Sunday.
Peralta is in line to make his start on Friday against the Miami Marlins, giving him one last chance to showcase his top-of-a-rotation ability to possible suitors.
He’s just one of many players who will be under the microscope in the coming days as contenders jockey for position in a crowded playoff picture in both leagues. So, as we enter the final stretch before the deadline hits, here’s a look at some of the latest rumours and speculation flying across baseball.
Reds drawing ‘significant interest’ in Greene
After making the playoffs in 2025, the Cincinnati Reds have taken a step back this season.
The Reds enter Friday’s action with a 51-57 record and appear poised to sell off players on expiring contracts, such as Brady Singer, Tyler Stephenson, Nathaniel Lowe, Eugenio Suárez and Brock Burke.
But it’s flamethrowing right-hander Hunter Greene who might be piquing the most interest on the trade market.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote Thursday that “the Reds are drawing significant interest in Greene,” adding that Cincinnati isn’t “particularly motivated to trade him, but barring a trade of (Elly) De La Cruz, a move involving Greene might be their best chance to make an impact at the deadline.”
Greene, 26, recently returned to the Reds’ rotation after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow in early March. And while the results haven’t been spectacular — a 7.06 ERA — he has struck out 30.9 per cent of hitters he’s faced and is averaging 98.4 m.p.h. with his fastball.
The former second-overall pick is under contract through the 2028 season and is the type of controllable starting pitcher that tends to bring back massive returns at this time of year.
Marlins open for business
Coming off a June in which the Miami Marlins set their franchise record with 20 wins in a month, the Fish looked like a potential sleeper post-season squad.
But they’ve come back to earth in July, dropping 15 of their 26 games up to this point, including a 12-game losing streak.
It’s set the wheels in motion for the Marlins to open their doors ahead of the trade deadline. Miami has reportedly “made everybody but Eury Pérez and Sandy Alcántara available,” per ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Thursday.
That includes a pair of breakout Canadians in Miami’s infield. According to Passan, “teams adore” Otto Lopez and “they love” Liam Hicks.
Lopez currently leads baseball with 138 hits and is second with a .325 batting average. He’s also mixed in 43 extra-base hits and 22 stolen bases while emerging as one of the league’s top shortstops. Hicks, meanwhile, has as many walks as he does strikeouts and has hit 14 home runs in 98 games.
Passan listed the Boston Red Sox as a potential suitor to make a package deal for both Lopez and Hicks, but noted that “the cost would be painful.”
Angels ‘willing to discuss’ controllable players
The Los Angeles Angels have long been a team stuck in the middle. Not willing to sell, but not building strong enough rosters to compete in the AL West.
It has led to some curious decisions to hold at recent trade deadlines, rather than prioritizing their long-term future.
But now operating under interim general manager John Mozeliak, things could be changing in Anaheim.
Mozeliak is “willing to discuss more than just players on expiring contracts,” multiple sources relayed to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Wednesday. With shortstop Zach Neto and starting pitchers Reid Detmers and José Soriano all under team control beyond 2026, the Angels could become one of the deadline’s most intriguing sellers.
Feinsand reported that Los Angeles is “collecting information on the potential return for each of the three players,” but did add that dealing the trio is “far from a certainty.”
Should the Angels deal any of Neto (19 HRs, .757 OPS), Detmers (4.03 ERA, 28.3 strikeout percentage) or Soriano (3.29 ERA, 24.9 strikeout percentage), they should be able to restock a farm system that currently features just one prospect on Baseball America’s top-100 list.
• In the wake of Cody Bellinger’s hamstring strain, the New York Yankees continue to prioritize adding a catcher, right-handed-hitting outfielder and bullpen help, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
• After making the All-Star Game in his return to MLB, Foster Griffin and the Washington Nationals are exploring the possibility of an extension, rather than a trade of the pending free agent, per ESPN’s Buster Olney.