3 MLB Trade Deadline sellers that have to get it right

These three sellers have to nail the MLB trade deadline to save their future.

The 2025 MLB Trade Deadline is fast approaching, and all 30 teams likely know by now whether they will be buyers, sellers, or something in between at the end of the month.

While every team needs to get it right at the deadline, to borrow a phrase from George Orwell’s Animal Farm, some teams need to get it more right than others. These three teams, expected to be sellers at the deadline, are in a unique position as the end of the month approaches. They are smaller-market teams, but with a talented nucleus to build around and a potential window of contention.

With the right moves over the next few days, they could be teams that are buyers a year from now.

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles entered the 2025 MLB season with high expectations, given two consecutive playoff appearances and a young core including Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, and more.

But a 16-34 start doomed Baltimore’s playoff chances, and despite the Orioles going 25-21 since then, they are still well outside the playoff chase. That tough start also doomed manager Brandon Hyde, and the pressure is on general manager Mike Elias.

Still, the Orioles are in a decent position going forward. In addition to Rutschman (who is under control through 2027) and Henderson (under contract through 2028), Holliday, Jordan Westburg, and Colton Cowser are solid offensive pieces to build around. While Baltimore has been undone by a lack of pitching this year, injuries to Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez certainly played a role.

Baltimore has some veterans at the end of their current deals that they will likely move, such as All-Star DH Ryan O’Hearn and outfielder Cedric Mullins. While pitching has been a problem, the Orioles also have some veteran arms that they could move before the deadline, such as Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano.

Still, with the young nucleus in the Inner Harbor, Elias can keep the Orioles contenders next season, if he gets the deadline right this season.

Athletics

The Athletics remain mired at the bottom of the AL West with a 42-59 record, 16 games out of first in the division and 12 out of a Wild Card spot.

However, they have a pair of All-Stars in rookie Jacob Wilson and Brent Rooker, and additional young talent in rookie Nick Kurtz as well as players Lawrence Butler, Max Muncy, and Tyler Soderstrom.

The A’s have some arms they could move at the deadline. The problem might be just what they could get in return. Starting pitcher Luis Severino might be their best option, but Severino’s ERA of 5.10 and his WHIP of 1.39 do not scream “must buy” at the deadline.

Nor does his contract, as he is due $47 million over the next two seasons before he hits free agency for 2028.

Still, teams are looking for pitching as the deadline approaches, and Severino might be the Athletics’ best piece to move. A team could talk themselves into the veteran right-hander, hoping pitching in a major league ballpark rather than the temporary bandbox the A’s are playing in right now, could turn those numbers around. Sutter Health Park, the temporary home of the Athletics in Sacramento, has a Park Factor of 112, which would make it the second-most hitter friendly park in the majors behind Coors Field.

Since that stat is measured on a three-year rolling average, there is not enough data to officially rank Sutter Health Park that high on Statcast, but the small sample size tells you that it might be tough to pitch there.

With that young core in place, general manager David Forst could move Severino, or some veterans on one-year deals such as Luis Urías, Gio Urshela, or Miguel Andujar, and set the team up for a true run next season.

Pittsburgh Pirates

No.

I know what you are thinking but ... no. Absolutely not.

As many as 29 other teams would love to have Paul Skenes, the hard-throwing right-hander will not be made available ahead of the trade deadline.

But Skenes is part of the reason that the Pirates need to sell, but get it right this July. While other teams are looking for pitching help ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline, Pittsburgh is one of the few clubs with some arms they can move, and a need to bolster their lineup. Skenes is under team control through 2029, first with a pre-arbitration season in 2026 and then three arbitration years in 2027, 2028, and 2029.

That gives the Pirates a window with him in their rotation.

But Skenes is not the only arm Pittsburgh has under team control for the near future. The Pirates also have Bailey Falter under team control through 2028, Michael Burrows through 2027, and Mitch Keller through 2028. Keller has generated a lot of interest on the trade market given the season he is having, and that favorable contract might bring home a big return for the Pirates. Andrew Heaney might be another arm the Pirates could move, but he is in the final year of his contract.

Pittsburgh also has some top-flight arms waiting in the wings. Bubba Chandler, a third-round pick in 2021 (that the Pirates went over slot for to sign), is waiting at Triple-A Indianapolis with a 4-3 record and an ERA of 3.39. Other arms in the Pirates’ system include left-hander Hunter Barco, who began the year at Double-A Altoona but is in Indianapolis as well, with a 3.94 ERA over his 11 starts in Triple-A, and Thomas Harrington, who began the year in Pittsburgh but is now in Indianapolis. Harrington has struggled a bit in Triple-A this season, but posted a SO/W of 6.05 over his entire 2024 season, as well as a WHIP of 0.963. That SO/W in 2024, posted as he worked up to Triple-A from Single-A, was the best mark in the entire organization.

Given what is waiting — and what the Pirates already have in Skenes — moving Heaney or even Keller could be options for general manager Ben Cherington for improving the Pittsburgh lineup.