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ESPN
Dec 3, 2025, 07:00 AM ET
Baseball's winter meetings are just around the corner, and we're ready for some blockbuster deals.
We've already seen some intriguing trades this offseason with the New York Mets acquiring Marcus Semien from the Texas Rangers for Brandon Nimmo and the Boston Red Sox adding Sonny Gray to their pitching staff -- but there are even bigger stars who could move in the weeks ahead.
With that in mind, we asked our MLB insiders to give us their preferred destination for some of the biggest names in our ranking of the top 25 MLB offseason trade candidates.
Where did we send All-Stars Ketel Marte and Byron Buxton? Which Red Sox outfielder is on the move in our deals? And which contenders get starting pitching help? Let's find out.
The Arizona Diamondbacks should trade Ketel Marte to the ...
The Mariners plucked from the D-backs to jolt their offense just five months ago, acquiring corner infielders Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor. They should do so again, this time for Marte, the star second baseman who can be had for the right return. The Mariners have a need for another bat, and Marte would represent a massive upgrade over merely re-signing Suarez or Jorge Polanco.
Marte would slide in perfectly ahead of fellow All-Stars Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh, allowing Randy Arozarena to join Naylor in the middle of the lineup and giving Seattle arguably the best offense in the American League -- to pair with what is likely the best pitching staff.
Coming off a gut-wrenching loss in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, it's the perfect move to push the M's toward the first World Series berth in franchise history. And whether it's Cole Young, Michael Arroyo or Felnin Celesten, the Mariners might have enough young, promising middle infielders to satisfy the D-backs' likely desire for a Marte replacement without parting with Colt Emerson. -- Alden Gonzalez
Boston Red Sox for Jarren Duran and Kyson Witherspoon
Roman Anthony's 2025 breakout rendered Duran expendable in an outfield already staffed by Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu, both of whom offer more remaining team control. And with presumed second-baseman-of-the-future Kristian Campbell struggling as a rookie (86 OPS+, -1.0 WAR), the door swung open for a move of this magnitude.
Duran's proclivity for doubles and triples will play beautifully in Arizona (just ask Corbin Carroll), and Witherspoon, the No. 15 pick in the 2025 MLB draft, instantly becomes the club's best pitching prospect. -- Paul Hembekides
The Red Sox should trade Duran to the Philadelphia Phillies for a package including Alec Bohm
These lightning-rod players certainly are not coming off their best seasons and perhaps each needs the proverbial change of scenery. The Red Sox may need someone to play third base, and Bohm, while no match for Alex Bregman, is a capable hitter and defender. The Phillies could then get a more consistent third baseman who enjoys playing in Philadelphia. Duran would fill Philadelphia's center-field need, and it would create some opportunity in a crowded Boston outfield. See, trades can work out for both teams! -- Eric Karabell
The Cleveland Guardians should trade Steven Kwan to the Mariners
I love this idea so much. Kwan would return to the West Coast, about a four-hour drive from Corvallis, where he starred for Oregon State. He would give the Mariners a needed upgrade at a corner outfield spot, teaming with Julio Rodriguez to improve Seattle's outfield defense. Most importantly, he could slide into the leadoff spot, offering contact and OBP as a poor man's Ichiro, hitting in front of Cal Raleigh, Rodriguez and his old Cleveland teammate, Josh Naylor. Let's get this done. -- Bradford Doolittle
The Chicago White Sox should trade Luis Robert to the ...
Rumor mill whispering has connected the Royals with Boston's Jarren Duran for the hefty price of Cole Ragans, a swap I can't abide. The Royals have starting pitching depth, but they don't have ace depth and Ragans must stay. Duran isn't an ideal defensive fit for Kauffman Stadium if you view him as a center fielder, and the Royals need to upgrade at that spot badly.
Enter Robert, whose work on strike zone judgment seemed to be paying off in the latter stages of last season. He's younger than Duran and has more power upside without sacrificing speed and defense. The Royals' new hitting staff is hyper-focused on improving pitch recognition, and I'd love for them to be new voices in Robert's ear. The Royals could keep Ragans and modulate their rotation/prospect return based on Chicago's willingness to pay down some of Robert's $20 million for next season. Alas, this would be more palatable from a payroll perspective if the Royals had not already committed $8 million to run it back with Jonathan India. -- Doolittle
Philadelphia Phillies
It's time. Time for Robert to find a new home and time for the Phillies to mix up the vibe a little. It's possible that last season proved to be Robert's current floor -- good defense and 33 stolen bases will help teams win games. But it's also just as possible the ceiling is still within reach after years of underachieving. First off, getting away from the Sox did wonders for Gavin Sheets and Andrew Vaughn. The same could be true of Robert if he moves on, especially since he's finally cutting his chase rate down.
Now put him in a good lineup with even better pitches to see -- and perhaps a little more pressure to perform -- and the Philles could just get the best version of him. He has hit 28 homers in a season. He hit .338 in another (partial year). Put it all together and he might turn into a steal. -- Jesse Rogers
The Minnesota Twins should trade ...
Byron Buxton to the Los Angeles Dodgers
This falls into the "Why? Because they can, that's why" category. Enough is never enough for the Dodgers, so this offseason's installment of making sure they have too much is the acquisition of the best available player at the position they may actually believe they need to upgrade. Move Andy Pages to left, slot Buxton into the top half of the lineup and go for three in a row. -- Tim Keown
Joe Ryan and Ryan Jeffers to the New York Yankees
Ryan was a popular name at the trade deadline and he's popular again coming off an All-Star season with a rebuilding team and two years of team control remaining. The Yankees don't need another front-line starter, but Ryan would give them some rotation stability early in the season with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon (and Clarke Schmidt) on the injured list and he would supply insurance should Cole or Rodón return later than usual or struggle upon return. And as these front offices like to say: You can never have enough starting pitching.
Jeffers would quench the Yankees' need for a right-handed-hitting catcher after carrying three left-handed-hitting catchers for most of the 2025 season. He would platoon with Austin Wells and allow the Yankees to move Ben Rice, also a left-handed hitter, to first base full time. -- Jorge Castillo
The Miami Marlins should trade Edward Cabrera to the New York Yankees for Jasson Dominguez If the Yankees are truly focused on keeping their payroll in check, they'll need to be creative in how they address their roster shortcomings. Presuming that the team re-signs Cody Bellinger, the Yankees will already have spent a majority of their available free agent budget, and have rendered Dominguez excess with top prospect Spencer Jones also an in-season debut candidate. Dominguez is the kind of high-ceiling youngster the Marlins should be targeting.
Cabrera is a talented, albeit injury-prone, starter who can provide critical rotation depth while the team waits for the healthy returns of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt. Dominguez's two additional years of team control might make this a slight overpay for the Yankees, but Cabrera's projected $3.7 million salary via arbitration could make him an ideal, budget-conscious acquisition. -- Tristan Cockcroft
The Miami Marlins should trade Sandy Alcantara to the Athletics
Alcantara's return from Tommy John surgery was a disaster in the first half of the season, as he entered the All-Star break with an ERA over 7.00. That made him untradeable; it made no sense for the Marlins to deal him at the trade deadline with his value at a low point. Alcantara found his groove over his final 12 starts, however, posting a 3.13 ERA with 69 strikeouts versus 18 walks over 77 innings. That is a pitcher you can trade.
The A's finished 26th in rotation ERA in 2025. The rotation did struggle at home with a 5.52 ERA in Sacramento, so that led to inflated ERAs, but their only two returning starters with more than 100 innings are Jeffrey Springs (4.11 ERA) and Luis Severino (4.54 ERA). It will be difficult for the A's to lure a decent free agent starter to Sacramento -- they had to overpay to sign Severino -- so a trade makes sense. Alcantara is signed to a reasonable $17.3 million for 2026 with a $21 million club option for 2027, which even the A's can afford.
With the Nick Kurtz-led offense, the A's will score runs. If they can build out the rotation and bullpen, they have the look of 2026's sleeper playoff team. Their farm system is improved and they have low-salaried pitching depth with guys like Mason Barnett and Jack Perkins to throw back Miami's way. -- David Schoenfield
The Washington Nationals should trade MacKenzie Gore to the Baltimore Orioles
Gore hasn't quite made the jump to front-line starter. But he has some qualities in common with higher slot lefties who are front-line types, like Blake Snell and Max Fried, so there could be another gear to be teased out. He also comes with two years of control and his arbitration number this year should land around $5 million.
In return, the Orioles can send a prospect package featuring OFs Slater de Brun and Austin Overn and RHPs Esteban Mejia and J.T. Quinn to the Nationals. Baltimore doesn't have to include C Samuel Basallo and can probably hang onto OF Dylan Beavers, as well. I have the Nats opting for a larger package of players that includes what I think will be the sorts of prospects we'll see new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni target. It helps new execs coming from the draft side of evaluation to target recent draftees, with de Brun and Quinn from the 2025 draft and Overn from the 2024 draft. -- Kiley McDaniel
The Pittsburgh Pirates should trade Mitch Keller to the San Francisco Giants
The Giants churned through 15 starting pitchers in 2025 and return only three who made more than 10 starts (Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp), leaving two slots to fill aside from the depth that is required in this era. Hayden Birdsong and Carson Whisenhunt are the top internal candidates, but adding a veteran starter for stability looks like an offseason necessity.
Keller is signed for three more years at an AAV of about $18.5 million. His biggest strength has been durability and consistency, making at least 29 starts four seasons in a row and averaging 183 innings and 2.1 WAR the past three seasons. His strikeout rate has declined from 25.5% to 20.0% since 2023, so that's a minor cause for concern, but moving to the Giants, with better defense behind him and a stellar catcher in Patrick Bailey should help lower his batting average allowed.
Do the Pirates have enough rotation depth to trade Keller? Probably not, but they do have Paul Skenes, Mike Burrows, Braxton Ashcraft, Johan Oviedo and Bubba Chandler, plus Jared Jones returning from injury, so there at least is the makings of an exciting young rotation even without Keller. They need power, however, so the ask from the Giants would be their top prospect, first baseman Bryce Eldridge.
Too steep for the Giants? Perhaps. Eldridge has 35-homer potential and has produced while being very young for his levels, reaching Triple-A in 2025 at just 20 years old. He does have some holes in his game, with a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, he struggled against breaking balls from left-handers, he has below-average speed and his defense at first base is fringy, so he might be a DH with Rafael Devers playing first. The power is real -- enough for the Pirates to gamble on and also real enough that he'll be difficult to pry away from the Giants. -- Schoenfield
