The 2024 MLB trade deadline is right around the corner. Every year, tons of moves, both big and small, are made at and before the trade deadline. Struggling teams sell off their best players for young prospects, while teams looking to contend are willing to part with young players for win-now pieces and rentals that could potentially get them over the hump and into the World Series.
The MLB trade deadline is always one of the busiest trade deadlines in all of sports, and this year is expected to be no different. In this article, we will detail everything that you need to know before the last day to make trades.
When is the 2024 MLB trade deadline?
The 2024 MLB trade deadline is at 6 p.m. ET on July 30. Prior to 2019, July 31 served as the trade deadline, but teams could still make trades in August if a player first cleared revocable trade waivers. That is no longer the case, and July 30 now serves as a hard deadline to trade players.
What teams will be buyers?
There are a number of teams expected to be aggressive ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline. USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale reports GMs and other MLB execs believe the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves will be the “most aggressive teams.” Here's a closer look at this list of teams, plus a few more.
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles have become legitimate World Series contenders. They have had the best farm system in the MLB for years, and a lot of their top former prospects have become major league stars. The team still has tons of talent and depth in the minor leagues, though, and it may finally be time to cash in on that and make a big trade.
Baltimore has more ammunition to land a big star than any other team in the league. They are set offensively, but their pitching depth has been depleted because of injuries. Look for the team to trade prospects for veteran starting and relief pitchers.
New York Yankees
The Yankees are seemingly always buyers. It is championship or bust every season for New York, and after a down year last season, the team is back in a power position. With 55 wins, the Yankees are one of the best teams in baseball, but they are actually below the Orioles in the AL East standings.
The team could serve to give Aaron Judge and Juan Soto some help offensively, or they could choice to add to their rotation. Either way, it is safe to say New York will be buyers once again. The team has the money to land the biggest stars in the sport, and it wouldn't come as a surprise if the team traded for a superstar at the MLB trade deadline.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Like the Yankees, the Dodgers are no stranger to adding star talent. In the offseason, they gave Shohei Ohtani the biggest contract in sports history as a free agent, and they even added Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the roster, but they are still surely not done adding to the roster.
The Dodgers don't have many holes in their lineup, but they will be all in on gunning for a championship for the duration of Ohtani's contract. Shortstop is arguably their biggest need, as Mookie Betts has proven that he is probably better suited for second base or the outfield. The shortstop market isn't as deep as some other positions this year, but Bo Bichette is one trade candidate the team may look at. The Toronto Blue Jays shortstop won't come at a cheap price, and he is having a down year, but he would still be a big time acquisition for Los Angeles.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies have been so close, but they haven't been able to break through quite yet. They lost in the World Series two years ago before losing in the NLCS last year. Clearly the team is a contender, but their championship window won't last forever, and they need to add the missing pieces in order to take the next step.
The Phillies do have a stacked lineup, but some of their best players are converted outfielders. The team could use some help in the outfield, and luckily, there should be plenty of talent on the trade market at that position. Players including Luis Robert and Jazz Chisholm are on teams likely to sell at the deadline.
Milwaukee Brewers
When it comes to trades, the Brewers are known to do things differently. There are plenty of examples of the team trading their best star talent despite being in a position to compete in the postseason. The Brewers had a good team in 2022, but they still traded Josh Hader that year. They got a nice haul back while avoiding potentially losing him in the future for nothing.
Most recently, the team traded Corbin Burns to the Orioles. Again the team has found success, even without a player who was arguably the most talented on their roster. The Brewers control the NL Central, but they likely won't be trading any stars this go around. In fact, the team has already signaled that they are buyers. They made the first big move of the trade season when they traded Gregory Barrios for Aaron Civale.
Seattle Mariners
In recent seasons, the Mariners have both bought and sold at the trade deadline, but adding talent will be the priority this year. Seattle has controlled the AL West all season, but the Astros are right on their heels, and the Texas Rangers are still the defending champions. The Mariners will need to add sooner rather than later to stay atop of their division.
San Diego Padres
Stars have gone in and out of San Diego in recent years. At the MLB trade deadline this year, they are more likely to add than sell, which may have been a surprise after moving on from Blake Snell, Juan Soto, and Josh Hader in the offseason. The team made one of the first trades of the season back in early May when they traded for the contact-hitting Luis Arraez. Now, they will be looking to add some more talent to replenish what they lost in the offseason.
Houston Astros
The Astros got off to a disastrous start to their season. The team has since gotten back on track, and they are now over .500. Their hot streak puts them in contention to buy at the trade deadline, which is something they have done frequently in recent seasons.
The Astros have made it to at least the ALCS in each of the last seven seasons. If they want to keep their streak alive, then they will need to trade for starting pitching. Expect Houston to be as aggressive as always come July 30th.
Atlanta Braves
The Braves were supposed to take a step back when it was announced that Ronald Acuna Jr. tore his ACL and would miss the remainder of the season. Instead, the Braves have continued chugging along, and now Atlanta is positioned to secure a wildcard spot in the postseason.
Things have by no means been easier without Acuna, though, so Atlanta is now expected to make some big moves at the MLB trade deadline in order to recreate some of his production that was lost when their star player went down. If Atlanta goes star-hunting for a replacement for Acuna, then Randy Arozarena would make sense, but Taylor Ward is an outfielder who has also been linked to the team. The Braves could also use some help on the pitching front, so expect Atlanta to be active leading up to the trade deadline.
What teams will be sellers?
There are several clear sellers in play, plus some other teams could wind up being sellers depending on how things play out over the next month.
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox are off to the worst start in franchise history, and their record is in danger of being historically bad. The team started their rebuild last year, and it will continue at this year's MLB trade deadline. Some of their best players (Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert) have sunken their trade value because of injury red flags, but the team still has arguably the hottest commodity in the game.
Garrett Crochet leads the MLB in strikeouts, as he has become one of the best pitchers in baseball during his first year as a full-time starter. The team can likely return a massive haul for their star pitcher, and they will take whatever they can get for some of their other talented but injury-prone players.
Colorado Rockies
The Rockies are always a weird team when it comes to constructing their roster, both when it comes to long-term and short-term mindsets. The team has some intriguing names to sell off, including Ryan McMahon, Brendan Rodgers, and Elias Diaz. However, the Rockies haven't always gotten back great returns for their stars (check Nolan Arenado trade).
Considering Colorado is one of only a few clear-cut sellers, they can take advantage of the seller's market and return a ton of talent for the future for their best players. If there is a trade deadline to commit to a full rebuild for Colorado, this would be the year.
Oakland Athletics
Ahead of their move to Las Vegas, the Oakland Athletics have been one of the worst teams in baseball. Mason Miller would return the biggest package in a trade, but he is under team control for another half-decade, so Oakland may want to build around him. Players like Brent Rooker, Miquel Andujar, Austin Adams, and Scoot Alexander will all draw interest, though.
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels had arguably the greatest duo in MLB history with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Now, Ohtani plays for the other team in Los Angeles, and the injury bug has bitten Trout once again. The team will be incapable of making a playoff push, so they should be sellers at the trade deadline.
The only thing that could prevent that would be an earlier-than-expected return from injury by Trout, because the team wants to keep their best player happy. Even that shouldn't stop the Angels from making drastic changes to their roster at the trade deadline, though.
Miami Marlins
Along with the White Sox, Rockies, Athletics, and Angels, the Marlins are considered to be one of the five teams that will be surefire sellers at the MLB trade deadline. The team's roster reconstruction has already begun, as they designated Tim Anderson for assignment.
The struggling shortstop was past his prime and didn't carry any trade value, but Miami does have some players that will be coveted at the deadline. Notably, Tanner Scott will be one of the best relief pitchers available, and relief pitching is always in high demand at this point in the season.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays got off to a historic start last season, and they were primed to be contenders for a long time. It has all gone hill since Wander Franco was found to have had an inappropriate relationship with a minor. Now, the Rays only sit in fourth place in the AL East, and they are likely headed in the direction of selling at the deadline.
This was illustrated by their trade with the Brewers that sent Aaron Civale to Milwaukee. It isn't guaranteed that Tampa Bay will continue to make trades, but if they do, then the likes of Randy Arozarena, Zach Littell, and Brandon Lowe could be the next names on the move.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays were not supposed to be sellers this year, but they have had a disastrous campaign that leaves them in last place in the (albeit) stacked AL East. It would be a shock to see superstars like Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. be traded, but they have heard their names in trade rumors.
Who is on the trade block?
The 2024 MLB trade deadline is expected to be a seller's market. There are few bad teams, so with most teams pushing for a postseason spot, the league's bottom dwellers will be able to capitalize on selling off their trade chips.
The White Sox have been by far the worst team in MLB, and they are expected to be the most active at the trade deadline. They hold arguably the most coveted trade candidate in baseball. Garrett Grochet is not only an elite starting pitcher, but he is young and has years of team control left.
A deal for Crochet will likely net the biggest return at this year's trade deadline, considering he can be viewed as a long-term contributor for a trading team. Chicago also has bats to sell off. Eloy Jimenez, Yoan Moncada, and Luis Robert have all dealt with injury issues, and trading teams will be concerned about their ability to stay on the field, but if they can stay healthy, they can give star-level offense to a new team.
The Rockies are another team with bats available. Colorado is undergoing a youth movement, so veterans like Elias Diaz, Brendan Rodgers, and Ryan McMahon can be had for the right price.
Even with all of these bats available, teams always need arms at the trade deadline. We already saw that with the first trade leading up to the deadline, as the Brewers already traded for Aaron Civale. Mason Miller, Carlos Estevez, Tyler Anderson, Chris Bassitt, and Jack Flaherty have all been rumored to be on the block.
Even the New York Mets superstar first baseman, Pete Alonso, has been rumored as a potential trade candidate. If the star slugger were to be moved, he would be one of the biggest names traded in recent MLB history.
Regardless of who is moved, deadline day and the days leading up to it are sure to be busy. There is never a dull moment during the MLB trade deadline, so be sure to check back with ClutchPoints to see what players are on the move.
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