Who are the MLB stars most likely to be traded this year?

In February, the Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer wrote a very interesting article on the Major League Baseball star players he thinks are likely to get traded this season. 

Among the top pickers were some names you’d least expect to get traded, and while they were all based on assumptions, Rymer certainly made some good points. So who were they?

Shohei Ohtani has been a mainstay of the Los Angeles Angels since 2017 but that doesn’t mean he’s secured an extension with Angels owner Arte Moreno.  

Rymer said Ohtani could get traded if the Angels have another bad year. “Teams in that position typically cut their losses by getting something for their pending free agents, and Ohtani stands to be perhaps the most valuable rental in MLB history”

Javier Báez is signed with the Detroit Tigers through to 2027 and has only served one of his six years in Motown, so why trade him this season?

Basically, a Báez trade boils down to how well the Tigers will do this season and whether or not Scott Harris will choose to keep the shortstop on as he rebuilds the team, something his predecessor Al Avila failed to do after signing Báez in 2021. 

Cleveland is a small market team according to Rymer, and as such, probably shouldn't keep Amen Rosario on when the Guardians can cut $7.8 million from their salary costs—which is why we could see Rosario traded. 

Rymer mainly thinks Gleyber Torres could get traded because of rumors that the New York Yankees' second basemen hasn’t been approached to extend his contract. 

Torres apparently wants to stay in New York past 2024 but when asked if he’d been approached by the team, Torres reportedly said “I wish,” according to ESPN’s Marly Rivera. 

St. Louis has more outfielders than they need according to Rymer, and he’s pegged Tyler O’Neill as the player most likely to be traded in order to fill the Cardinals’ throwing gap, with the Bleacher Report sports journalist writing, “the notion that the Cardinals could trade a bat for an arm holds water."

Lucas Giolito is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and rumors based on remarks made by Jon Heyman earned the White Sox pitcher his spot on Rymer's list of those most likely to be traded this year. 

If Ian Happ doesn’t perform this season then he’ll be probably get traded. Rymers reasoning? The Chicago Cubs spent $310.5 million on free agents like Dansby Swanson, Jameson Taillon, and Cody Bellinger to make themselves a contender this year. So if Happ doesn't perform then he could get traded.  

“If the Cubs are still an underdog come the summer trading season,” Rymer wrote, “chances are other teams will be trying to get at Ian Happ" just like they did near the trade deadline in 2022. 

The Colorado Rockies have an extremely slim chance of making the playoffs this year and that alone could put C.J. Cron at risk of a trade this summer according to Rymer. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder was at the top of Rymer’s list of most likely trades this year because of reports that Reynolds had asked to be traded in December. “If anything, it's a wonder that the Pirates haven't already traded Reynolds,” Rhyme wrote.  

“But if their gambit is to hope that his play during the season boosts their negotiating leverage in trade talks, well, one must grant there are good odds of that working out,” the Bleacher Report sports journalist added.