Three Position Players Most Likely to Be Traded Before the Deadline

The 2026 MLB trade deadline is August 3, and the seller market is already taking shape. While pitching will dominate most of the headlines between now and then, the position player market has some genuinely interesting names floating around. Here are the three most credible non-pitcher trade candidates right now.

All stats are accurate as of June 22, 2026 and subject to change before this article’s scheduled publication date.

1. Luis Arraez, 2B, San Francisco Giants

If there is one position player trade at this deadline that feels as close to a sure thing as anything gets in baseball, it’s Luis Arraez leaving San Francisco.

The Giants are 29-43, second-worst in the National League, and have made clear they are open to selling. Arraez is in the final year of his one-year, $12 million deal and will be a free agent after 2026. He has no no-trade clause. Multiple outlets including ESPN and TheScore have pegged his trade probability at 100 percent.

What are contenders actually getting? Arraez is slashing .321 with 3 home runs, 30 RBI, and 39 runs scored, hitting .316 in June alone. He leads the National League in contact rate and is on pace for his fifth consecutive season hitting over .300. He’s also quietly improved his defense this year, going from one of the worst defensive second basemen in the league to a legitimately above-average option at the position.

The lack of power is real. Arraez is not going to give you 20 home runs. But his ability to put the ball in play, get on base, and wear down opposing pitchers is exactly what contending teams value in October.

Multiple contenders including the Yankees, Rangers, Phillies, Rays, Mariners, Padres, and Cardinals have already been connected to him by name in reporting from ESPN and Sporting News. The only real question is where he lands, not whether he moves.

2. Taylor Ward, OF, Baltimore Orioles

Taylor Ward came to Baltimore with big expectations after hitting 36 home runs and driving in 103 runs for the Angels in 2025. The Orioles gave up Grayson Rodriguez to get him. It hasn’t gone the way anyone planned.

The power has been almost completely absent this season. Through 358 plate appearances, Ward is slashing .255/.393/.355 with just four home runs and 21 RBI. But that .393 on-base percentage is elite. His 122 OPS+ is well above average. He’s reached base at one of the best rates in the American League all season and has played in all but one of Baltimore’s games.

The Orioles are sitting below .500 and increasingly look like a seller. Ward is a free agent after 2026, meaning a trading team gets a pure rental without any long-term contract commitment. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel pegged his trade probability at 90 percent.

Bleacher Report has specifically connected him to the Tampa Bay Rays, who need left field help and whose on-base, station-to-station offensive style fits Ward’s current game perfectly. The Phillies, Braves, and White Sox have also been named as potential suitors.

The trade value question is real: is a 32-year-old who has transformed from a power hitter into an on-base machine enough to command a real return? Most analysts say yes, particularly for a contender that values plate discipline and can hide his power outage in a lineup that generates runs elsewhere.

3. Jarren Duran, OF, Boston Red Sox

Duran is the most complicated name on this list, and I want to be upfront about that before making the case for his inclusion.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel put his trade probability at just 25 percent, which is notably lower than the other two names here. That number reflects a real tension: the Red Sox are clear sellers, but Duran has two years of team control remaining through 2028, and Boston may prefer to hold him through the deadline and hope his value rebounds rather than sell low right now.

Here’s why he still belongs on this list. The outfield situation in Boston is genuinely unsustainable. The Red Sox are currently carrying five outfielders on the active roster, with Roman Anthony still on the IL and due back soon. When Anthony returns, someone has to give, and multiple beat writers covering the team have said Duran is the most logical candidate to move.

His numbers this year have been disappointing. He’s slashing .214/.270/.398 with 12 home runs, 37 RBI, and 11 stolen bases, with a 29.4 percent strikeout rate that represents a real step backward from his best seasons. He was better in May, posting a .879 OPS with nine homers in 26 games, but he’s cooled off sharply in June.

The argument for trading him now despite the down year: two years of control at a reasonable salary is valuable, his ceiling is well-documented, and the Phillies and Padres have both been connected to him by name in recent reporting. A change of scenery for a player who’s been stuck in trade rumors for two years and is about to get squeezed out of playing time by Roman Anthony’s return is a real, credible narrative.

The argument against: selling low on a former All-Star Game MVP who put up 9.0 bWAR just two seasons ago when his value is at its lowest point in four years is a tough sell for a front office already under fire. If his bat comes around in the second half, Boston looks smart for holding. If it doesn’t, they’ll have missed the window entirely.

This one is genuinely a coin flip. But the outfield logjam is real, the team is selling, and the buzz is real enough to keep him on this list.

Notable Mentions

A few other names worth watching briefly.

Willy Adames, SS, San Francisco Giants is available per MLB.com sourcing, and the Giants are clearly selling. The obstacles are real though: a full no-trade clause, a $28 million AAV contract running through 2031, and multiple reporters calling a deal “difficult and improbable.” Worth watching, but not a bet.

Byron Buxton, OF, Minnesota Twins has been ranked as high as No. 2 on ESPN’s overall trade candidate list, but he has a no-trade clause and has said repeatedly he wants to finish his career as a Twin. Until that changes, he stays put.

CJ Abrams, SS, Washington Nationals would command a massive return given his age and controllability, but multiple reporters have said Washington is unlikely to move him before the offseason, when they can maximize his value in a larger market.