6 teams with prospects to trade at the Winter Meetings

December 4th, 2024

The Winter Meetings begin Sunday in Dallas, and prospects will certainly be on some teams' shopping lists.

Who will get the best holiday-season deal, and which clubs have the juice to make that kind of deal happen?

While previewing the upcoming meetings on this week's Pipeline Podcast, MLB Pipeline insiders Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo identified six teams with the prospect capital to swing big deals in Dallas. Callis and Mayo then assigned each club a "Tradeability Grade," a hypothetical metric meant to mimic the 20-80 grading system used by scouts to evaluate the tools of baseball's best prospects, with an eye toward ranking the clubs best situated for such trades.

Orioles
Tradeability Grade: 65 (Callis)
Overflowing with young talent for years now, the Orioles are at the point where they have multiple top-level prospects ostensibly blocked at the big league level or who project to play the same position when they reach MLB. And after 2024 resulted in another early-round postseason exit, the Orioles should be looking to improve wherever they can. Tapping into that elite depth is their best option. Need a young outfielder? Baltimore seemingly has countless: former Top 100 prospects Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad; first-round picks Vance Honeycutt (BAL No. 3), Enrique Bradfield Jr. (BAL No. 4); Dylan Beavers (BAL No. 6), Jud Fabian (BAL No. 11). Three of their top 22 prospects are catchers/first basemen: Samuel Basallo (MLB No. 13), Ethan Anderson (BAL No. 13), Creed Willems (BAL No. 22), and their top prospect, Coby Mayo (MLB No. 8) might end up at first as well. Substantially improving the big league roster probably means subtracting from this embarrassment of prospect riches.

Reds
Tradeability Grade: 60 (Mayo)
The Reds have already made a non-prospect trade this winter, sending Jonathan India to the Royals to bring in right-hander Brady Singer, and they still have the prospect capital to swing another deal for more pitching help if they want to. Potential trade partners could be enticed by Cincinnati’s well-stocked cupboard of offensive talent, from Top 100 prospects Edwin Arroyo (MLB No. 65), Sal Stewart (MLB No. 76) and Cam Collier (MLB No. 93) to recently graduated bats like the versatile Matt McLain and slugging outfielder Rece Hinds.

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Mariners
Tradeability Grade: 60 (Callis)
You can’t go wrong projecting Jerry Dipoto and the Mariners to make trades. And after narrowly missing the playoffs in 2024, it would make sense for Dipoto to look to swing a deal if he can improve his big league club, even on the margins. The Mariners have excellent prospect depth to deal from behind top prospects Colt Emerson (MLB No. 27) and Cole Young (MLB No. 38), especially on the position player side. Could they dangle infielders like Felnin Celesten (MLB No. 66), Tyler Locklear (SEA No. 6), or Tai Peete (SEA No. 11) in a deal? How about outfielders Lazaro Montes (MLB No. 47) or Jonny Farmelo (SEA No. 9)? They have one of the better catching prospects in the game in Harry Ford (MLB No. 49), but he might be blocked by Cal Raleigh in Seattle. The Mariners have options, and they are always looking to deal.

Cubs
Tradeability Grade: 55 (Callis)
The Cubs have eight Top 100 prospects, more than any other organization. Five of the first six guys on that list are position players who ended 2024 at Triple-A or in the big leagues, and the next guy on that list, Cam Smith (MLB No. 73), is last year’s first-round pick and finished the season at Double-A. At the big league level, Chicago’s roster doesn’t have any gaping holes. But does it have a true star? The Cubs need pitching and they need to create room in their lineup for some of these rising prospects, all of which makes them likely to swing a deal to acquire a star or two to build around.

Dodgers
Tradeability Grade: 50 (Mayo)
How much longer can we go without mentioning the Dodgers? The Dodgers might not have any glaring needs, but they’ve never been afraid to make trades either, and now have a World Series title to try defending. Los Angeles still has a good farm system and a bit of a logjam, since its big league roster is so stacked. They have a trove of excellent prospects who are two to three years away: Josue De Paula (MLB No. 48), Joendry Vargas (LAD No. 7), Emil Morales (LAD No. 8), Kellon Lindsey (LAD No. 10), Zyhir Hope (LAD No. 11), et al. They have the flexibility and depth to deal at least one or two of those guys if they so chose.

Tigers
Tradeability Grade: 45 (Mayo)
The Tigers are a playoff team. Remember that? Their surprising 2024 postseason run probably puts the Tigers a little ahead of schedule compared to where they thought they’d be this offseason. Nobody could blame them for seeing opportunity in the AL Central. Will they pounce? Detroit has good young players at the big league level and an interesting and growing group of players approaching or reaching the upper levels, like recently acquired Thayron Liranzo (DET No. 6) and AFL MVP Josue Briceño (DET No. 9).