Even though the season is just three weeks old, let’s take out the trusty crystal ball and project the future three months, to July 30, the day of the MLB trade deadline. What could occur? Who could be exchanged? We’re going to refer to this brief exercise as the Way-Early Trade Deadline Extravaganza Preview. The player (or players, depending on the situation) for each club that we believe has the best chance of being transferred will be listed; major leaguers will be the primary focus, but prospects will also be included. Examining rosters, interviewing players in their free agent years who are more likely to be dealt if a team is struggling, and determining which teams will be adding or subtracting are the tasks involved in this study. (That is particularly challenging.)
In the previous iteration, we identified seven players—Lucas Giolito, C.J. Cron, Michael Lorenzen, Aroldis Chapman, Luis Urias, Luis Patino, and JJ Bleday—correctly. Bleday was traded prior to the season, but after we finished the exercise. During the previous offseason, three more players were traded: Ryan Pepiot, Dominic Fletcher, and Jarred Kelenic. As you may remember, Shohei Ohtani was not traded. This year, who will we be wrong about? Now let’s get started.
Trade contender for the Arizona Diamondbacks is Justin Martinez The bullpen, which often doesn’t need to give up a top prospect, will be the Diamondbacks’ most pressing need. Martinez is one of the hardest throwers in the game, so I’m sure a few teams would like to take a chance on him. However, he lacked “Nuke” LaLoosh’s control before the “Bull Durham” character discovered how to breathe through his eyelids. Martinez topped out at 102.7 mph during his three appearances with Arizona last season, but he also walked 11 batters in 10 innings (and 48 in 49⅓ innings in Triple-A, where he will return to start the 2024 season).