One bold prediction for each team ahead of the MLB trade deadline

We’re not going to lie: you’ve probably seen bolder predictions. However, if you want a guide of what to expect from baseball’s 30 teams as the July 31 trade deadline nears, our team of writers has you covered. Here are their predictions, in no particular order.

Their priority is to remake a leaky bullpen by adding relievers with swing-and-miss stuff. While the Phillies could use more right-handed power for their lineup, they won’t find the kind of upgrade they want. So they’ll double down on creating the best group of pitchers they can. — Matt Gelb

Emmannuel Clase has 3 1/2 years of team control, all for less than $30 million total, a bargain for a top closer. There’s a horde of contenders desperately trying to convince Cleveland to move him — and odds are, they will — just not quite yet. Cleveland needs some bats. The Guardians could have more suitors in the offseason, when more teams have designs to contend and could talk themselves into forking over a haul for a long-term solution at closer. — Zack Meisel

The Padres will buy at the deadline and, as always, A.J. Preller is aiming high. To address multiple needs, the general manager may feel compelled to move a contract or two. San Diego is already around the second luxury-tax threshold. Dylan Cease and Robert Suarez are among the Padres expected to test free agency this winter. Jake Cronenworth has a partial no-trade clause and interest from other contenders. Preller has never simultaneously bought and sold in July, but he’s more than creative enough to pull it off. — Dennis Lin

The Mariners traded Suárez to Arizona after the 2023 season for some salary relief. With general manager Jerry Dipoto looking to add power, Suárez looks like an excellent fit. He’s having the best offensive season of his career, making his second All-Star team after hitting 31 homers with an .889 OPS. He would be a solid upgrade at third base over Ben Williamson, and his contract expires after this season. — Andy McCullough

Ryan Helsley has not been nearly as dominant as last season, but he’s still logged 19 saves out of 25 opportunities, and his fastball velocity remains one of the best in the league. Every contending team covets high-leverage firepower in relief. But the Cardinals, who are teetering on the competitive ledge themselves, don’t seem inclined to trade him, even with Helsley set for free agency after the season. St. Louis could net a sizable return by trading its closer, but it’s more likely it holds on to him, extend a qualifying offer for 2026 and hope for a competitive draft pick if he walks. — Katie Woo

This shouldn’t qualify as bold; Colorado is perhaps the worst baseball team ever assembled, Ryan McMahon is one of their few good players and the team should be trying to refurbish its farm system. Except these are the Rockies, who rarely trade players they have signed to extensions, and McMahon is still owed $32 million through 2027. This summer could be different. The Colorado ownership group has been more transparent about rebuilding. McMahon is an elite defender, and the Rockies should be able to find a suitor willing to bet his bat will improve once he escapes the double-edged sword of Coors Field. — McCullough

Alcántara, the 2022 National League Cy Young award winner, entered this season as one of the sport’s most likely trade candidates, but he has been wretched as he returns from Tommy John surgery. After giving up 18 runs in his 17 innings in his last three starts, he entered the All-Star break with a 7.22 ERA, the worst in the sport among pitchers who had logged at least 90 innings. Alcántara is under team control through 2028. The Marlins simply do not need to trade him now, at a time when contenders should be skeptical about his readiness. They can hope to get him through this season and still find a haul for him this winter or next summer. — McCullough

The Rays rarely have been afraid to make big trades, and they sold hard at last year’s trade deadline. But even after seeing their playoff odds plummet heading into the All-Star break, the Rays won’t be in everything-must-go mode this year. Especially with Shane McClanahan due back soon, they’ll make only modest moves with an eye toward a second-half run and a pitching-led postseason surprise. — Chad Jennings

The Orioles are much worse than they expected, but the bright side is that their roster is built to sell. Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn, Zach Eflin, Seranthony Dominguez, Gregory Soto and Ramón Laureano are all pending free agents who could be traded without disrupting the team’s more optimistic future. Charlie Morton, too, has righted the ship enough to have value as a veteran arm. Why not Andrew Kittredge as well? The O’s have plenty of pieces to move, and no reason not to move them. — Jennings

In the last few years, New York’s farm system has improved to where the talent doesn’t fall off a cliff past its seventh or eighth prospect. The Mets have a surplus of intriguing mid-tier prospects, enough to where they could use them (in one deal or multiple) to substantially improve the big-league club without dealing a top-10 prospect in the organization. — Tim Britton

It’s not all their fault; losing Corbin Burnes to elbow surgery was a critical blow. But even with a positive run differential at the break, the Diamondbacks, in fourth in the NL West, look like a team destined to sell. Josh Naylor, Zac Gallen, Eugenio Suárez, Merrill Kelly, Shelby Miller and Randal Grichuk are obvious candidates to be moved. Mike Hazen could have a busy couple of weeks. — Meisel

At the start of July, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins identified a right-handed bat as one of Toronto’s deadline priorities. Since then, Davis Schneider has a .954 OPS with four homers in July. At the same time, three Blue Jays relievers have gone on the injured list this month, exacerbating a clear need to add pitching. Atkins will go all in on pitching at the deadline, trusting Schneider to fill the righty role. — Mitch Bannon

The money is not coming. If it were, Bob Nutting would have authorized a payroll spike before this season. Instead, they’ll reallocate resources. Bryan Reynolds, Mitch Keller and Ke’Bryan Hayes are on the largest contracts in club history. I see Keller (owed $54.5 million from 2026-28) and Hayes ($36 million guaranteed from 2026-30) as imminently tradeable. I expect them to go. Reynolds’ deal, unlike Hayes’, is backloaded, and getting that off the books as his numbers crater would be a desperate move. — Stephen J. Nesbitt

The Reds have gotten little production out of their third baseman this year and adding Suárez would go a long way to not only solidifying that spot, but also bringing in a big right-handed bat to place behind Elly De La Cruz. Suárez spent seven seasons with the Reds. He is known and beloved by both the fan base and the organization. In turn, Suárez loves Cincinnati — and especially hitting at Great American Ball Park — where he already has two homers this year and 101 in his career. — C. Trent Rosecrans

Despite their disappointing first half, the Braves won’t be sellers, at least not in the sense some have predicted. The Braves aren’t planning to give up long-term assets — players under team control beyond this season — in trades. That includes many of those whose struggles have contributed directly to the team’s poor first half, such as Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II, as well as stars such as Chris Sale. — David O’Brien

The Brewers have only 55 more homers than Cal Raleigh this season, and they’re desperate for more thunder from their corner-infield positions. The first base inventory at this trading deadline is likely limited to Ryan O’Hearn and Josh Naylor, so the Brewers may settle for the return of Rhys Hoskins from the injured list. The third-base options, though, are plentiful. The Brewers will balance the lineup by bringing in the Rockies’ lefty-swinging Ryan McMahon, a moderate move that shouldn’t cost a fortune in prospect capital. — Nesbitt

The Red Sox traded for a starter last year in James Paxton and he was promptly hurt. This year, if they plan to contend in the postseason as they’ve said they do, they need a bona fide No. 2 — not a mid-tier option — to slide between Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello. Here’s predicting they trade an outfielder (among others) to get a controllable starter who’s a better fit this time around. — Jen McCaffrey

Despite the former All-Star’s struggles over the last two years, he still is a veteran who holds value around the league. And more importantly for the White Sox, if they can get a prospect or two out of the deal that they can develop for the future, it works out for all parties involved. — Dhani Joseph

It might not make a ton of sense to the average baseball fan. Why would a team that’s four games out of the Wild Card and two games under .500 make an aggressive push for the postseason? Well, this is the Angels. There’s a palpable desperation to every move they make, and they’ll take what little chance they have and go for broke. Maybe that changes with a bad couple weeks, but every indication is that the Angels believe they have a playoff-caliber team. For better or worse. — Sam Blum

Minnesota has enough impending free agents to be sellers, and get future value, without altering any post-2025 plans. In particular, Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Chris Paddack and Danny Coulombe should be easy to move for decent returns (less so Ty France and Christian Vázquez) and don’t figure to re-sign with the Twins. — Aaron Gleeman

Yes, they’re tied for second in the majors in runs scored. They have three former MVPs and the current leader in the NL batting race. They have a bigger priority in the bullpen that they’ll need to address. But one way to mitigate all the questions about the Dodgers’ pitching staff is to create a lineup with no holes. The Dodgers clearly saw that in adding Michael Conforto this winter, but that hasn’t worked out – he has a .620 OPS. If they can find a way to add an impact bat, they can move around the pieces to make everything else work. — Fabian Ardaya

The Yankees need a pitcher who could start a playoff game for them. The Diamondbacks seem destined to be sellers. Trading for Merrill Kelly would be a tremendous win for general manager Brian Cashman and his front office. Max Fried and Carlos Rodón could be a strong 1-2 punch at the front of a postseason rotation, and Luis Gil seems poised to make his way back from injury. But Kelly misses bats at a high clip, and as a rental, his price shouldn’t be sky high. — Brendan Kuty

We know the Tigers need relief help. But do they actually want Aroldis Chapman? There’s a case for adding a starter. But would they pay up for Sandy Alcántara? A big right-handed bat has its merits, but other teams like Eugenio Suárez, too. It would be very Tigers-like to add a couple of under-the-radar relief pitchers and maybe a platoon bat. They’ll improve the team, but maybe not boost the star power. — Cody Stavenhagen

Lugo was an A+ signing prior to the 2024 season. He finished second in the AL Cy Young Award voting last year and has been effective again this year. But with the Royals mired in mediocrity, Lugo heading toward his 36th birthday, and a decision looming on whether to exercise a player option for 2026 or become a free agent, the Royals might as well see if they can flip him for a near-ready position player prospect or two. He’d be one of the top starting pitchers available.— Meisel

Kyle Finnegan has been a National for all six of his big league seasons. Now on an expiring contract, he’s of no use to a team that is far out of the playoff race, largely because of its awful bullpen. But Finnegan has been good, and two division rivals can use some help, namely the Phillies and Mets. Philly’s Dave Dombrowski is known to be willing to trade prospects at the deadline. And while New York’s David Stearns is the opposite, his team’s glaring bullpen needs might force him to be more aggressive. — Blum

Everyone around this team assumes pitching is the focus at the deadline. It is. But the Cubs are going to look at any way to get better. Right now, third base and the bench are not strengths, especially offensively. They’ll find a way to improve at least one of those areas, in turn lengthening an already deep and fearsome offense. — Sahadev Sharma

The Giants will get a left-handed reliever and an infielder you’ve heard of, but never really thought about. The reliever is obvious. The infielder? He’s someone you’ve heard of, but never examined long enough to have an opinion on him. You’re neither impressed nor repulsed by his Baseball-Reference page. He is, to be clear, just a guy. — Grant Brisbee

The Athletics are 41-57 and still in the midst of a lengthy rebuild, so they should be extreme sellers at the deadline. Miguel Andujar, with his .287 batting average, could be interesting for contenders. However, it’s unlikely he’d bring back much. But Mason Miller, who has multiple years of team control and is one year removed from being an All-Star, would absolutely bring in a haul of prospects and assets. — Joseph

A two-headed monster atop Houston Astros’ rotation. An Arizona Diamondbacks team teetering toward selling. Sound familiar? Six years ago, the two instances inspired Houston’s stunning trade for Zack Greinke, adding him to the duo of Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. Now, the Astros again need a third starter behind Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown. They may not have enough prospect capital to land Merrill Kelly — a Houston native in the final year of his contract — but if owner Jim Crane covets a splashy name while contemplating whether to cross into the luxury tax, Kelly fits the bill. — Chandler Rome

With the expanded playoffs, it’s hard to be truly out of the race. But the Rangers pushed in their chips last season after a subpar first half and did not succeed. This year, they face a similar crux. But we’re going on 18 months of poor offensive performance. The Rangers will need to get hot out of the break to justify more buying. They might not truly sell, but it’s about time to admit this team needs reshaping. — Stavenhagen

(Top photo of Eugenio Suárez after hitting a homer earlier this season: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)