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The offseason is here! At MLB Trade Rumors, our Top 50 Free Agent List and the contract/team predictions associated with each player have become an annual tradition and one of our most anticipated pieces of the year. However, free agency only makes up a portion of the offseason roster reconstruction that MLBTR fans blindly follow. Trades are every bit as pivotal to weaving the offseason tapestry. However, they’re inherently a bit more difficult to predict, as they involve valuing multiple players and are generally less dependent on precedent.
We examined 25 trade candidates early last offseason and saw six of the top eight moved, with seven overall members of the list changing hands (and another five eventually being traded during the 2024 season). We’re upping that number to 35 this time, largely because a few teams figure to have a broad number of players available on the market.
The White Sox will continue their “anything that’s not nailed down” approach to the trade market, and the Cardinals, for the first time in recent history, are taking a step back and adopting a more future-looking approach as they overhaul their player development department. (Put another way: they’ll be selling off many veterans.) The Rays have several players nearing the end of their control windows in Tampa Bay, which always drives player movement. The Rangers are looking to drop back under the luxury tax threshold while simultaneously looking to add multiple starting pitchers.
Before we get to the list, here is a note on methodology. This isn’t a strict ranking of players’ trade value, nor is it solely about the likelihood of being moved. We’re trying to balance both things, an inherently subjective exercise. All projected salaries for arbitration-eligible players are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
1. Garrett Crochet, LHP, White Sox | Arbitration-eligible through 2026 ($2.9M projected salary in 2025)
There is no mystery here. Crochet was the most talked-about trade candidate for much of the summer. He only wound up staying put in Chicago after reports surfaced that he was seeking an extension if he was to pitch in the postseason. He was adamant about remaining a starter in the aftermath of a trade. Crochet, the No. 11 pick in the 2020 draft, has been a high-profile arm since he was drafted but has been beset by injuries.
The 2024 campaign was Crochet’s first full season back from Tommy John surgery and first full season as a big league starter. He entered the year with just 85 professional innings due to those health woes but pitched 146 innings out of the Chicago rotation. Fatigue was an issue down the stretch, as his results faded late in the year, but Crochet still notched a 3.58 ERA with an elite strikeout and walk rates (35.1% and 5.5%, respectively). He averaged 97.2 mph on his heater and shouldn’t have many — if any — workload restrictions next year. He’s an ace-caliber arm (2.69 FIP, 2.53 SIERA) being paid like a middle reliever because his lack of innings has curbed his earning power in arbitration. Every MLB contender will call the White Sox about Crochet this winter.
2. Ryan Helsley, RHP, Cardinals | Arb-eligible through 2025 ($6.9M projected salary in 2025)
The Cardinals made clear they’re taking a step back, cutting payroll, and focusing on revamping their player development practice. The 2025 season isn’t going to be a competitive one for them. Helsley is one of the best relievers in the game, with a 1.83 ERA over his past three seasons. He saved an MLB-best 49 games in 2024 while pitching to a 2.04 ERA with a 29.7% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and a fastball that averaged 99.6 mph. He’s controlled for one more season and carries a modest arbitration projection because he was injured for part of 2023 and didn’t have a full season of closing work until 2024.
The St. Louis bullpen has several trade candidates, with top setup man JoJo Romero also a surefire trade candidate who’s controlled through 2026. But Helsley is the big fish in the Cardinals’ bullpen, and he’s a virtual lock to be traded this winter.
3. Erick Fedde, RHP, Cardinals | Guaranteed $7.5M in 2025
Fedde might not be quite as much of a lock as Helsley to move, but he’s not far behind. The former first-round pick washed out after several injury-plagued years with the Nats but reinvented himself in the Korea Baseball Organization in 2023, taking home KBO MVP honors in a dominant showing. He returned to MLB on a two-year, $15M deal with the White Sox that looked like a bargain almost immediately. Fedde was traded to the Cardinals at the deadline when St. Louis was still in “go for it” mode. The team’s priorities have changed, and they can now recoup some young talent by peddling Fedde on the heels of 177 1/3 innings of 3.30 ERA ball, during which time he punched out 21.2% of opponents against a 7.2% walk rate. Fedde isn’t an ace and might not be as good as that 3.30 ERA suggests, but he’s a clear No. 3 or 4 starter being paid like a reclamation project. He’ll generate a lot of interest, and since he’s a free agent after 2025, there’s no reason for a retooling Cardinals club to hang onto him.
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