With less than two weeks until MLB‘s non-waiver trade deadline, everyone now knows the top candidates to move.
Ryan Braun, Carlos Gonzalez, Jonathan Lucroy, Rich Hill, Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller will light the rumor mill on fire leading up to August 1. Some of those guys will stay put, and the ones who go will cost a pretty penny and some valuable prospects.
Not every contender has the deep pockets or trade capital to pull off the megadeal. Those teams must instead search for bargains among the mid-tier trade chips. If they’re lucky, perhaps they can successfully gamble on a struggling talent for cents on the dollar.
This isn’t a look at the top trade options, but instead the best potential values among players with a feasible chance of changing teams. The order considers age, contracts and the likely asking price along with the person’s current performance, so players are not ranked according to overall worth in a vacuum.
Nobody listed is the lone missing piece to a championship, but these guys can help without breaking the bank.