Bradford Doolittle CloseESPN Staff Writer Sports reporter, Kansas City Star, 2002-09 Writer, Baseball, Baseball Prospectus Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus Member, Baseball Writers Association of America Member, Professional Basketball Writers Association David Schoenfield CloseESPN Senior Writer Covers MLB for ESPN.com Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995

The MLB trade deadline is just days away, and we’re all waiting for a Juan Soto blockbuster or another splash that will change the course of the rest of the season — and beyond. CloseESPN Staff Writer

Sports reporter, Kansas City Star, 2002-09 Writer, Baseball, Baseball Prospectus Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus Member, Baseball Writers Association of America Member, Professional Basketball Writers Association

CloseESPN Senior Writer

Covers MLB for ESPN.com Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995

There’s a big difference between what’s going to happen and what we think should happen, so we asked ESPN.com’s Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield to figure out the best possible trades for the biggest names we’re hearing could move. Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire Doolittle: Here’s the part where we reemphasize these are trades we personally would like to see, not trades we think will happen. Nevertheless, when I imagine Soto on the St. Louis Cardinals, I do so knowing they have been termed one of the clubs that match up best with the Nationals’ trade asks. I don’t think it will happen because the ever above-average Cardinals just don’t do this kind of in-season splash. But to see Soto lead the way through a postseason run that will send Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols into the twilight would be an amazing baseball story. The Cardinals certainly could use Soto’s bat in the outfield, though he would weaken St. Louis’ elite defense out there in the grass. With Paul Goldschmidt signed only through 2024, maybe St. Louis even could make a run at giving Soto the $500 million deal he wants. The package going back to the Nats would be headlined by either Nolan Gorman or prospect Jordan Walker as a starting point. While GM Mike Rizzo said that Washington isn’t going to fold Patrick Corbin and his upside-down contract into a deal if it dilutes the prospect return, perhaps if the Nationals include some cash, that could expand the deal even more. That is if the Cardinals’ scouts see something fixable in Corbin, because St. Louis needs the pitching. But the Cardinals also need Soto, or at least I need them to need Soto. 2 Related Schoenfield: You all are loving the Soto trade rumors, dreaming up scenarios, I’m sure, where he lands on your team. I hear you; as a long-suffering Mariners fan, I’d love to see Soto hitting behind Julio Rodriguez. It’s all good and fun and innocent … until Soto is inevitably traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. I say this knowing GM A.J. Preller of the Padres will end up offering MacKenzie Gore, C.J. Abrams, Robert Hassell and three orcas from SeaWorld. The biggest deadline names, however, almost always go to a team already in first place. Think Justin Verlander to the Astros and Yu Darvish to the Dodgers in 2017, Manny Machado to the Dodgers in 2018, Zack Greinke to the Astros in 2019, Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers or Javier Baez to the Mets in 2021. Note that the Dodgers were just mentioned three times. Executive Andrew Friedman loves the trade deadline and he’s staring at a lineup that features Max Muncy hitting .158 and Cody Bellinger .205. With Chris Taylor injured, the Dodgers have been playing Trayce Thompson in the outfield and DHing lightweights like Hanser Alberto and Jake Lamb. Plus, let’s face it: In this era of great Dodgers teams, they haven’t won a World Series in a 162-game season. They want a real title, not a COVID-19 one. Soto in Dodger Blue. Not so fun anymore, is it? Doolittle: Why should big markets get to have all the fun? The Minnesota Twins are all-in after signing Carlos Correa. They need a No. 1 starter but also could use an everyday DH to plug into the middle of their lineup. This move, along with additional moves to deepen the bullpen, would make Minnesota a very dangerous team in the playoffs this season and next. Of course, the Twins need to get to the playoffs first, and with Ohtani on board, that would help them finally gain some separation in the AL Central race. After next season, when Ohtani hits free agency, then the big-market teams can get another crack. Minnesota has good depth in the pitching prospects the Angels need (Josh Winder for starters) but can also offer up near-ready position talent like Alex Kirilloff and the currently injured Royce Lewis from position groups where the Twins have decent coverage. Maybe they can expand the prospect pool just a little and get Noah Syndergaard from the Halos as well. I need to see this happen. The deadline is less than a week away. Which players could finish the season on a different team? What we’re hearing: Offense, Pitching One player all 30 MLB teams should trade for (or away) Passan: 148 names to know What should your team do? Schoenfield: This is the best New York Mets team since at least 1988, a team with a chance to win 100 games, a team that is not going to collapse in the final two months like last year, a Mets team that actually plays good defense and has the most dominant closer in the game in Edwin Diaz, a team that absolutely can go all the way. Now imagine this team with Shohei Ohtani and a playoff rotation with Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, Ohtani, Taijuan Walker and, if you need him, Chris Bassitt (and you will probably need him, given Ohtani requires more than four days of rest between starts and deGrom might as well). And picture Ohtani serving as the DH when he’s not pitching — the Mets do need more power, with 58 fewer home runs than the Braves, the team they’re trying to hold off in the NL East (which is important as well, so you can skip that first-round best-of-three series). The Angels will want Francisco Alvarez, arguably the best prospect in the minors. It’s Ohtani. Make the trade. Then sign him to a huge extension. David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports Doolittle: The Seattle Mariners are in position to end a 21-year playoff drought. They have baseball’s itchiest texter in GM Jerry DiPoto, who began this season with supreme optimism that Seattle was ready to break out. It’s a mindset that has to only amp up his eagerness with the deadline approaching. The starting pitching has been middle-of-the-pack, but it projects to regress in the wrong direction from here on out. Adding Castillo to the top of that group puts the Mariners on track to host a first-round series, and if he stays as hot as he has been in recent outings, Seattle can do some damage once it gets to October. Send the Reds Matt Brash and another prospect, maybe take on Mike Moustakas’ contract, and get ready to roll. Schoenfield: The Twins are the one first-place team where Castillo can step in and become the team’s No. 1 starter, which is all the incentive the Twins should require to make a move. Aside from that, Sonny Gray and Chris Archer are averaging less than five innings per start and Joe Ryan isn’t much over five. This is a rotation that not only is solidly mediocre (17th in the majors in ERA), but also rarely goes deep into games, tied for 26th in quality starts. Obviously, you want to make sure Castillo is healthy after recently missing two weeks before his start on Wednesday, but one additional incentive: The rival Guardians are a strong landing spot for Castillo, as well. Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images Doolittle: It’s pretty clear teams like the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays don’t assign value to the catcher position with the same methodology that goes into the calculation of WAR metrics. Because both of those teams seem to always have a glaring hole behind the plate according to WAR and yet they win and continue to be considered among the smartest organizations around. With that caveat: An Astros lineup that has the potential for near perfection ranks dead last there, according to any kind of consensus WAR measure. With recent rumors suggesting Houston might be willing to move a controllable starter like Jose Urquidy, the Astros and Cubs start to match up nicely. This assumes Houston really does feel like it can do better than Martin Maldonado behind the plate. Which teams excelled and which failed to meet expectations in the first half of the 162-game season? Handing out everything from an A-plus to an F Second-half preview for all 30 teams Schoenfield: OK, I know I already added Ohtani to the Mets. Well, they should trade for Contreras as well. Does owner Steve Cohen want to win a World Series or not? He very much does. You want to know what Mets catchers are hitting? Entering Wednesday, .199/.245/.266. That’s the same OPS as Mario Mendoza, the symbol for offensive futility, and ranks 29th in the majors. There are other teams that will want Contreras — the bottom five teams in catcher OPS are the Rays, Astros, Guardians, Mets and Cardinals, all playoff contenders — so a trade, even as a rental, will require a couple of good prospects in return. Contreras rates on par with James McCann as a framer, so you shouldn’t lose much on defense, at least once Contreras gets comfortable with the pitching staff; he’s a veteran, so that shouldn’t be an issue. How about this lineup: CF Brandon Nimmo, RF Starling Marte, DH Ohtani, 1B Pete Alonso, SS Francisco Lindor, C Contreras, LF Mark Canha, 2B Jeff McNeil, 3B Eduardo Escobar. That’s a lineup to make even a multibillionaire happy.

The Washington Nationals should trade Josh Bell to the …

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images Doolittle: Bell also makes a lot of sense for the Astros, but I’m trying to spread things around, so I’m sending him to the Cleveland Guardians. Any team acquiring Bell has to go in with its eyes open, knowing it is more likely to get the player Bell is likely to be going forward than the player who had an All-Star-level first half. For Cleveland, Bell is an upgrade at first base in either scenario, and the Guardians would not have any trouble in meeting Washington’s asking price. And if Bell is actually able to replicate his first-half production, that could be enough to get the…