Ranking MLB Teams With The Prospect Depth To Trade For Tarik Skubal Or Garrett Crochet

2. Seattle Mariners

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The Mariners are the perfect trade partner for a team at the starting point of a lengthy rebuild. While they have a few close-to-the-majors prospects, another team is better off looking elsewhere if it desires three or four immediate starters from its sell-off.

But Seattle offers promise for the back of the 2020s. The Mariners have a fascinating group of prospects in rookie ball and Class A for a team building for the future.

Between Colt Emerson, Lazaro Montes, Jonny Farmelo (who is sidelined with a knee injury), Felnin Celestin, Michael Arroyo, Aidan Smith and Tai Peete, the Mariners have an overabundance of prospects who are a ways from the big leagues but have all kinds of upside to dream about. 

And there are some more polished prospects like Harry Ford, Logan Evans and Tyler Locklear to mix in as well.

It’s hard to see a team taking so many risks when there are other teams with prospects closer to the majors. If the White Sox see this as a long rebuild, though, it’s logical to at least consider a haul of far away top-end prospects.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

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Thanks to graduations and trades, the Dodgers do not have as many top 50 prospects as other potential buyers. They can, however, offer an interesting prospect at almost every position, and they usually have two or three different players to choose between.

Need a catcher? The Dodgers could trade Dalton Rushing, Thayron Liranzo and/or Diego Cartaya without a worry. Will Smith is one of the best catchers in the game and is signed through 2033.

Want a high-ceiling outfielder with risk but also all-star potential? Do you like Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope or Eduardo Quintero?

Prefer pitching? Scout Justin Wrobleski, River Ryan, Landon Knack, Kyle Hurt, Edgardo Henriquez or Jackson Ferris.

And if you need an infielder, Alex Freeland is an interesting close-to-the-majors choice. There’s also Joendry Vargas, Emil Morales or Jeral Perez if you’re willing to take a little risk with a lot of upside.

Less Expected, But Lurking

4. Boston Red Sox

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The Red Sox have been more sellers than buyers in recent years. They have the prospect depth to make a solid offer if they want to land a front-line starter, though. Are they willing to trade from shortstop Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony, catcher Kyle Teel and the fast-rising infielder Kristian Campbell? All four are in Double-A, so they could fit the perfect combination of high ceilings and close-to-the-majors readiness. Add in rookie-ball darling Franklin Arias and the Red Sox have the prospect depth to make a very competitive offer, if they so desired.

5. Philadelphia Phillies

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It’s hard to imagine the Phillies offering enough to land Skubal. However, this is Dave Dombrowski. No baseball executive is more willing to trade prospects for big leaguers, and few have had as much success doing so. He has traded for Chris Sale, Miguel Cabrera, Max Scherzer and many others.

Imagine a package of Andrew Painter (returning from Tommy John surgery), Justin Crawford, Aidan Miller, Starlyn Caba, George Klassen and Eduardo Tait? That’s a Juan Soto-esque trade package (or maybe even a little too much). It wouldn’t match the Orioles’ ability to offer big league-ready talent, but the Phillies could offer a potential front-line starter as part of three top-50 prospects in the game, another promising arm and a pair of high-ceiling prospects who are just reaching Class A.

6. Cleveland Guardians

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Similarly, it’s hard to imagine the Guardians acquiring either Skubal or Crochet. That’s not their normal approach. But if they decided they wanted to, they have the prospect depth to make a credible offer.

The Guardians would have a hard time winning a true prospect auction, but they have a chance to provide a well-rounded portfolio of close-to-the-majors prospects at numerous positions. The Guardians have a nice mix of outfield (Chase DeLauter, Jaison Chourio) and middle infield prospects (Gabriel Arias, Angel Genao, Juan Brito, Angel Martinez, Kahlil Watson) as well as a still-solid group of arms (Alex Clemmey, Jackson Humphries, Parker Messick and several others). With all-star Josh Naylor at first, the team also has more first base/DH types than almost anyone with Kyle Manzardo, Ralphy Velazquez, C.J. Kayfus and Jhonkensy Noel.

7. Minnesota Twins

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Both the Guardians and Twins face an added complication as AL Central rivals to the Tigers and White Sox. The Twins also appeared to face financial limitations last offseason, so a divisional deal seems unlikely. Still, prospect-wise the Twins can make a competitive offer.

Walker Jenkins, Brooks Lee, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Luke Keaschall is an impressive group of top-tier position prospects. There’s also pitching depth thanks to Zebby Matthews and David Festa. On top of that, the Twins also have a number of recent graduates like Eduoard Julien, Jose Miranda, Austin Martin, Matt Wallner and Simeon Woods Richardson. They’re all big league ready and inexpensive. It’s hard to see the Twins, White Sox or Tigers engaging in talks, but it’s worth mentioning the Twins do have the prospect talent to make a competitive offer.

8. Milwaukee Brewers

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The Brewers generally look to grow their own pitching rather than spend to acquire a front-line starter. Clever pickups like Tobias Myers and the now-injured Robert Gasser are examples of Milwaukee’s approach. It’s a pretty deep system thanks to arms like Jacob Misiorowski and Brett Wichrowski. There’s also a mix of young big league outfielders like Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick to go with infield prospects like Cooper Pratt and Tyler Black. Imagining the Brewers getting involved is hard, but they can put together a reasonably competitive offer if they tried.

Hard To Scrape Up Enough

San Diego Padres

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The Padres under general manager A.J. Preller are the most aggressive team in baseball at the deadline. They traded for Juan Soto at the deadline two years ago, a deal that brought San Diego one of the best outfielders in baseball, but has now set up the Nationals with their shortstop (CJ Abrams), right fielder (James Wood) and a midrotation lefthander (MacKenzie Gore). San Diego has won some trades and lost others, but it seems to have a knack of creating enough prospect value to ensure it always has plenty of potential trade chips.

That remains true. A number of Padres’ prospects aren’t having great seasons, in part because the Padres are exceptionally aggressive at sending players to leagues where they will rank among the youngest players in the league.

It’s a high-risk, high-reward approach that hasn’t been all that rewarding this year. Good luck finding a premium Padres prospect having a standout year in the minors, although Leodalis De Vries has recently been on a hot streak.

Catcher Ethan Salas and De Vries are still excellent prospects. But basing a franchise-altering deal around a catcher hitting .195/.295/.275 in High-A, even if he just turned 18, or a 17-year-old shortstop in Low-A, is hard to stomach.

Pitchers Robby Snelling, Dylan Lesko and Adam Mazur have struggled this year, making it hard to see them as the cornerstone of a deal, either. With only two Top 100 Prospects, it’s unlikely San Diego can make a competitive offer for one of the available aces.

New York Yankees

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The Yankees’ bigger need seem to be lineup based, which will likely come at a lower cost. The Yankees still have a solid system, but trades, graduations and injuries have thinned their top-end prospect depth. New York currently has two Top 100 Prospects (outfielders Jasson Dominguez, who ranks seventh, and Spencer Jones who ranks 81st). It’s unlikely to see the Yankees trying to add a front-line starter. If they did, they’d struggle to win a bidding war.

Houston Astros

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After acquiring Justin Verlander at the deadline last year, Jacob Melton (No. 76) is Houston’s only Top 100 Prospect. The next tier of Astros prospects are useful secondary pieces in a trade, but it’s hard to come up with a package to swing a deal for Crochet or Skubal.

Kansas City Royals

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The Royals are one of the best stories in baseball this year. They’re in the thick of the playoff race behind young superstar Bobby Witt Jr. and a raft of astute free agent pitching signings. Still, it’s tough to see the Royals swinging an in-division trade given pitching isn’t necessarily their biggest current need. The team’s rotation is its strength. Bullpen and outfield help is much less expensive than trading for cost-controlled front-line starters.

Atlanta Braves

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Injuries keep ravaging the Braves. With Ronald Acuña out for the season and Max Fried and Ozzie Albies on the IL, Atlanta is likely to look for lower-cost trade reinforcements. They traded away almost nothing to remake their outfield during their World Series-winning 2021 season. Even if Atlanta did want to make a move to bring in Crochet or Skubal, it’s hard to see how they could fashion a competitive package. Pitchers A.J. Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep, Spencer Schwellenbach and J.R. Ritchie are intriguing, but the team’s position player depth thins out very quickly after Nacho Alvarez and Drake Baldwin.