The trade deadline is five weeks away, meaning MLB teams are doing daily evaluations about whether they should be buyers and sellers as the days until the Aug. 3 cut-off dwindle.
For those interested in upgrading their big-league clubs, a big part of the process is internal evaluation of the farm system to identify which prospects could be expendable and which should be off-limits in trade talks. On the flip side, for teams trading major-league pieces with an eye toward the future, this is a prime opportunity to target minor-league talent in other organizations that could become a fixture for their teams down the road.
With that in mind, here’s a look at six prospects on teams expected to be buyers who could be on the move in the coming weeks, given their place in the organizational depth chart and their value industry-wide.
The Cubs already unloaded one outfield prospect, Owen Caissie, in the deal for right-hander Edward Cabrera. Alcantara represents another tantalizing trade chip that Chicago could use to address its injury-ravaged rotation (Cabrera, predictably, included). Alcantara is the classic case of a prospect performing in the upper levels but completely blocked by a superstar player at his primary position. In this case, that’s Pete Crow-Armstrong, who not only is leading all position players in fWAR but also recently signed a six-year, $115 million extension that ensures he’ll be patrolling center field on the North Side for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Alcantara — acquired from the Yankees in the Anthony Rizzo trade at the 2021 deadline — is crushing the ball in Triple-A. His 30.5% strikeout rate remains a red flag, but Alcantara is registering elite hard-hit and barrel rates, and he has already matched his home run total from last season (17) in roughly half as many games. Between his Triple-A production and the PCA-sized obstacle in front of him on the Cubs’ depth chart — and as one of the top prospects in an otherwise shallow farm system — Alcantara checks the boxes of an ideal trade chip for a team in Chicago’s position, pushing aggressively for a postseason spot with clear roster holes to fill.
For those interested in upgrading their big-league clubs, a big part of the process is internal evaluation of the farm system to identify which prospects could be expendable and which should be off-limits in trade talks. On the flip side, for teams trading major-league pieces with an eye toward the future, this is a prime opportunity to target minor-league talent in other organizations that could become a fixture for their teams down the road.
With that in mind, here’s a look at six prospects on teams expected to be buyers who could be on the move in the coming weeks, given their place in the organizational depth chart and their value industry-wide.
The Cubs already unloaded one outfield prospect, Owen Caissie, in the deal for right-hander Edward Cabrera. Alcantara represents another tantalizing trade chip that Chicago could use to address its injury-ravaged rotation (Cabrera, predictably, included). Alcantara is the classic case of a prospect performing in the upper levels but completely blocked by a superstar player at his primary position. In this case, that’s Pete Crow-Armstrong, who not only is leading all position players in fWAR but also recently signed a six-year, $115 million extension that ensures he’ll be patrolling center field on the North Side for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Alcantara — acquired from the Yankees in the Anthony Rizzo trade at the 2021 deadline — is crushing the ball in Triple-A. His 30.5% strikeout rate remains a red flag, but Alcantara is registering elite hard-hit and barrel rates, and he has already matched his home run total from last season (17) in roughly half as many games. Between his Triple-A production and the PCA-sized obstacle in front of him on the Cubs’ depth chart — and as one of the top prospects in an otherwise shallow farm system — Alcantara checks the boxes of an ideal trade chip for a team in Chicago’s position, pushing aggressively for a postseason spot with clear roster holes to fill.
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