Top 5 Candidates for a Trade

The coming weeks will be eventful in MLB, as the threat of a lockout looms over the baseball world and the situations involving free agents and trade candidates will need to be resolved by December 1 in most cases.

And speaking of trades, several big names could be changing teams in November. Here are five of them, starting with Ronald Acuña Jr.

The Atlanta Braves have exercised the club option in Acuña's contract, meaning he'll earn $17 million in 2027. But all signs point to the fact that he may have played his last game in Georgia.

Another MLB star could also find himself in a new place before the potential lockout. We're talking about Elly de la Cruz, as the Cincinnati Reds aren't in the habit of offering lucrative contract extensions. The 24-year-old still has a few years left under team control before becoming a free agent, so Cincinnati isn't necessarily in a hurry to trade him. But teams in the Manfred-led league will be watching his situation closely, and one of them might offer the moon.

Next up is C.J. Abrams, a name that surfaced at this year's trade deadline but ultimately remained with the Washington Nationals. Abrams is under team control through the 2028 season, and there's no rush in his case, but officials in the nation's capital wouldn't be making their first hasty trade.

Let's turn our attention to the World Series champions, the Milwaukee Brewers, as the Fall Classic MVP, William Contreras, may not be returning to Wisconsin next year. The star catcher will enter his final year of team control, which could prompt the Brewers to trade him this winter, as they did with Freddy Peralta last year.

Finally, the best reliever in Major League Baseball—Mason Miller—could also be on his way out. It's unclear where the San Diego Padres are headed financially, and with some glaring holes in the lineup to address, they might decide to move on from Miller.

All of this will be worth watching in the coming weeks.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.