Glasnow was dealt. Is Burnes next? 7 MLB trade targets to watch the rest of this winter

At the beginning of the offseason, I wrote an article about 10 of the top players most likely to be traded this winter, a list that included Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo and Tyler Glasnow. The Padres later traded Soto to the Yankees in a seven-player deal, and the Red Sox traded Verdugo to the Yankees for three pitchers. On Thursday night, the news broke that the Rays have agreed in principle on a deal sending Glasnow (along with Manuel Margot) to the Dodgers for righty Ryan Pepiot and outfielder Jonny DeLuca.

If the Rays-Dodgers trade — who The Athletics reported is pending a physical and dependent on Glasnow agreeing to an extension with Los Angeles — is finalized, three players from my starting list will be moved. So, who’s next? The Brewers and White Sox are seriously considering trading their top starting pitchers – Corbin Burnes and Dylan Cease, respectively — and the Rangers are open to trading their All-Star closer, Emmanuel Clase, if the right offer materializes. But other interesting names are being discussed in trade talks across the sport.

Therefore, I’ve reset the field of top trade candidates — adding and subtracting a few names based on the latest information I’m hearing in conversations with front office executives and others in the game. Here’s my updated list that highlights the seven players most likely to be traded between now and the start of spring training.

Matt Arnold’s phone was flooded with texts from opposing general managers about Burnes, who many in the industry initially believed would be traded this winter. Back then the buzz was that the Brewers wouldn’t be moving Burnes anytime soon. Then, during the Winter Meetings, some GMs thought the 2021 National League Cy Young winner would be traded if Milwaukee could get the right return. What will the Brewers do? Burnes will be a free agent after next season and they won’t be able to re-sign him, but will they deal him now or wait until the deadline? The Brewers will look to acquire young manageable starting pitching in return, and they match up well with potential trade partners like the Blue Jays, Orioles, Dodgers and Giants.

New White Sox GM Chris Getz bought Stop and listened to offers all offseason, but he recently paused the process to wait for the free agent starting pitching market to settle before he makes the rounds to interested teams. Once Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell sign, expect trade talks to heat up with the teams missing that trio of top starters. Cease, who will turn 28 this month, is under team control for two more seasons. The White Sox seem to fit in well with teams such as the Orioles, Reds and Dodgers, who all have strong farm systems.

Clase was one of the best closers in baseball in 2021 and 2022, posting a 1.32 ERA with 66 saves during that span. Last season he wasn’t as dominant, posting a 3.22 ERA, though he still led the majors with 44 saves and 65 games finished. Year over year, his strikeouts per nine innings dipped from 9.5 to 7.9 and his walks per nine increased from 1.2 to 2.0. In April 2022, Cleveland signed Clase to a five-year, $20 million deal with club options in ’27 and ’28. However, there is uncertainty with all the helpers, and the Rangers have decided to at least listen to trade offers for Clase, who is only 25 years old. They’re especially interested in seeing if they could get an effective corner outfielder in return and remind teams that Clase will make significantly less than Josh Hader, 29, is asking on the open market. Teams such as the Rangers (Clase’s former club), Dodgers and Yankees would be in line with the Rangers in a trade because all three have the outfielders that Cleveland covets.

The Rays have listened to trade offers for Arozarena this offseason. Although they control him for three more years, he is now arbitration eligible and his salary will increase significantly during that time. (Arozarena earned $4.15 million this year and is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to get $9 million through arbitration next year.) The Rays are a good match in an Arozarena trade with the Mariners (who could hang on to one of their best young starting pitchers such as Bryce. Miller), or the Guardians (who could offer a young pitcher like Gavin Williams), or the Giants (who could offer left-handed prospect Carson Whisenhunt). But it would be difficult for Tampa Bay to trade Arozarena, who is a fan favorite.

The Marlins aren’t shopping Cabrera; they love his stuff but young verifiable starting pitchers have more trade value than ever, and if they could turn Cabrera into three major league players to fill their needs, that type of deal needs to be considered. Cabrera posted a 4.24 ERA last season over 20 starts and two relief appearances in the majors. He struck out 118 in 99 2/3 innings. He will turn 26 in April and is not eligible for arbitration until 2026. The Marlins match well with the Rays in a potential deal, and their new president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix, knows Tampa Bay’s system inside out after more than a decade in that organization. He joined the Marlins in early November and wasted no time in making a trade with his mentor, Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander, two weeks later. They will do another business before too long. And after agreeing to deal Glasnow, the Rays, as always, will look for verifiable young starters like Cabrera.

The Reds continue to say publicly that they are not shopping India or planning to trade him, but they are listening to offers and would be willing to move the former Rookie of the Year if they get the right starting pitcher back in a deal. The signing of corner infielder Jeimer Candelario (three years, $45 million) makes India expendable. The Reds’ best infield setup right now appears to be Candelario at first, Matt McLain at second, Elly De La Cruz at short and Noelvi Marte at third. That leaves the DH spot to India and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, with Spencer Steer, who led the team in home runs and doubles as a rookie, spending more time in left field. The Reds like having the protection of extra infielders because the upper levels of their farm system don’t offer big league depth in that area, but their need to upgrade the starting rotation outweighs that. The Red Sox, Angels and White Sox are among the teams that could use India.

The Padres’ cost-cutting is underway and Cronenworth is next on their to-do list. However, trading him won’t be easy considering he slashed .229/.312/.378 last season with 10 homers, 48 ​​RBI and a 92 OPS+. His bWAR went from 4.1 in 2022 to 1.0 in 2023. Cronenworth, who will turn 30 in January, is signed through 2030, his age-36 season, with an average annual value north of $12 million per year. That seems like a fair contract for his skills, but most of those seasons are after his “prime years” (ages 25-31) and he’s coming off a disappointing season, so San Diego would probably have to eat significant money to complete a deal. .

(Top photo by Corbin Burnes: Rich Schultz/Getty Images)