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5 MLB trades that could happen ahead of next week's deadline

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It's incredibly difficult, given the unprecedented and downright wacky nature of the 2020 season, to predict how this year's trade deadline will unfold.

Will contenders be reluctant to part ways with quality long-term pieces to bolster their chances in a season where the playoffs are even more of a crapshoot than normal? Could a surprisingly decent start compel a rebuilding club to forgo selling off expiring assets and go for it instead?

Or will it just be business as usual, with the good teams reinforcing their rosters for a possible World Series run and the bad ones selling off whatever they can for prospect lottery tickets? (A reminder: only the players in a team's 60-man pool may be traded, and any player that's traded must be added to his new club's player pool.)

At this point, nothing should surprise any of us. So, without further ado, here are five hypothetical deals that seem to make a whole lot of sense and could very well happen in the days leading up to Monday's 4 p.m. ET trade deadline.

Yankees acquire Cueto, Flores from Giants

Yankees get Giants get
SP Johnny Cueto IF/OF Miguel Andujar
IF Wilmer Flores

For the second year in a row, injuries are decimating the Yankees, who are currently without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres, James Paxton, and Zack Britton. Not coincidentally, New York is in the midst of its longest losing streak of the season (three games before the Mets' COVID-19 outbreak scuttled the teams' weekend series), and the club was usurped by the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East last week.

The Yankees are going to make it into October regardless - New York's playoff chances sit at 99%, according to FanGraphs - but they won't be able to contend for a pennant or a World Series title as currently constituted, and it seems highly improbable that all of their ailing stars return in time for a postseason push. New York could use reinforcements at virtually every spot on the diamond. (Frankly, the team's rotation needed an upgrade even before Paxton hit the injured list over the weekend.)

To make this deal work, the Yankees would need to take on the entire balance of Cueto's contract, which will pay the 34-year-old roughly $21.8 million in 2021 and includes a $5-million buyout on an even-pricier 2022 club option. But by doing so, they would effectively buy themselves both a viable replacement for Paxton - Cueto owns a 101 ERA+ with an above-average FIP through six starts this season - and a versatile, offensively gifted infielder in Flores, who's been one of baseball's best-hitting infielders this year (136 wRC+). The 29-year-old also owns an impressive .314/.355/.501 slash line since the start of 2019.

If everyone returns healthy in short order, New York would have almost unrivaled depth in its rotation and infield. If not - and that's very much the likelier possibility - the Yankees wouldn't have to rely as heavily on both Thairo Estrada and Tyler Wade, nor would they potentially have to entrust a postseason start to an uninspiring, back-end type like J.A. Happ.

Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

For their part, the Giants - a rebuilding club flattered by a 14-16 record - should welcome the salary relief, and could better stomach the loss of Flores by getting back Andujar, a potential building block who's younger than Flores, under control for longer, and showed major promise as recently as 2018, when he clobbered 27 homers with a .855 OPS as a rookie.

Blue Jays acquire La Stella, Simmons from Angels

Blue Jays get Angels get
IF Tommy La Stella 1B Rowdy Tellez
SS Andrelton Simmons SP T.J. Zeuch

After hitting the nadir of their rebuild a year ago, the ascendant Blue Jays are flirting with respectability again, playing above .500 through the first month of 2020 despite losing star shortstop Bo Bichette to a knee injury that could sideline him for the majority of the season. Meanwhile, for the umpteenth year in a row, the Angels are a massive disappointment and will almost certainly try to offload as many of their soon-to-be free agents as possible. If the Blue Jays hope to amount to more than an also-ran in 2020, they would do well to inquire.

Simmons, his shortcomings with the bat notwithstanding, is a massive defensive upgrade over Toronto's incumbent shortstops, such as they are. Additionally, his relatively hefty salary could enable the Blue Jays to get La Stella - a versatile infielder quietly worth 2.3 WAR over his last 106 games - included in the deal. La Stella, who owns a .828 OPS since 2019, could split his time between second and first base with the Blue Jays, with Cavan Biggio moving to the outfield to accommodate him. The deal would ultimately bolster a lineup lacking in depth in the wake of Bichette's injury.

Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images

Though fringe contenders are typically reluctant to part ways with long-term pieces for rentals, the Blue Jays essentially have another Tellez at the ready after acquiring Dan Vogelbach from the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. Zeuch - a ground ball-inducing 25-year-old right-hander with some big-league experience - has fallen down the organizational depth chart of late. Neither loss would meaningfully affect the club's short- or long-term future.

For the Angels, given their continuing inability to develop pitching and construct a competent major-league staff, Zeuch - under control through 2025 - represents a potential upgrade over some of their current big-league starters. Unlike many of the pitchers in the upper levels of their organization, Zeuch has a modicum of upside.

Tellez, meanwhile, remains under control through 2024 and could be Albert Pujols' long-term replacement at first base if he can refine his approach a bit: Tellez has 29 home runs and 31 doubles through his first 154 big-league games, albeit with a .297 on-base percentage and a sky-high chase rate.

Padres acquire Rosenthal from Royals

Padres get Royals gets
RP Trevor Rosenthal IF Jason Vosler

San Diego's bullpen, anchored by 2019 All-Star Kirby Yates and offseason addition Drew Pomeranz, was supposed to be one of the league's best in 2020. Instead, the surging 18-12 Padres have excelled in spite of their bullpen, which owns a ghastly 5.45 ERA and 5.00 FIP while accruing negative win probability added amid injuries to both of those back-end cogs.

If the Padres hope to have a realistic shot come October - and, as weird as it sounds, it looks like they'll make the playoffs - they'll need to fortify their bullpen, especially with Yates out for the year. As such, Rosenthal, the veteran closer seemingly born anew following a miserable 2019 campaign, is the perfect trade target.

Ed Zurga / Getty Images

Through a dozen appearances with the Royals, Rosenthal owns a 1.59 ERA with a 1.06 WHIP, converting all six of his save opportunities while fanning more batters per innings (11.91) than either Kenley Jansen or Adam Ottavino. Rosenthal's devastating case of the yips, which marred his 2019 season and nearly threatened his career, appears to be fully behind him. While he may not be a sub-2.00 ERA guy anymore, Rosenthal has re-established himself as the kind of late-inning stud that San Diego has lacked in its thus-far magical 2020 campaign.

The Padres should be willing to part ways with Vosler, not simply because this season represents their best chance at a title in decades, but because the 26-year-old is superfluous with Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer at third and first base, respectively.

The Royals, for their part, should be pleased to end up with a player like Vosler, a versatile infielder with on-base skills, decent power, and a solid track record of hitting in the upper levels of the minors. Relievers on expiring deals don't land elite prospects in trades anymore, and the acquisition cost for a top-end bullpen arm will likely be even lower this year.

Rays acquire Castro from Angels

Rays get Angels get
C Jason Castro SS Taylor Walls

Though the Angels' offseason spending spree has amounted to nothing in the win-loss column, they can at least take some solace in the fact that Castro, the veteran catcher whom they signed to a one-year deal in January, managed to turn himself into a decent trade chip. Castro, while splitting time behind the plate with Max Stassi, has turned in his finest offensive season (108 wRC+) since 2013 and has done a much better job throwing out would-be base-stealers than he did last year.

Michael Zagaris / Getty Images

The Rays, in the midst of another terrific season, have received virtually nothing from their catchers - primarily the woebegone duo of Mike Zunino and Michael Perez - who have combined for -0.3 WAR while hitting .156/.238/.322. And they haven't just struggled in the batter's box. Zunino has been the league's least valuable pitch-framer in 2020, according to Baseball Savant, and neither backstop owns a caught-stealing rate as high as Castro's current mark of 36%.

Needless to say, Castro would be a seismic improvement for the Rays, who are typically loath to play in the rental market. But Walls doesn't figure to be a major part of Tampa Bay's future with emergent star Brandon Lowe, shortstop Willy Adames - both of whom remain under control through at least 2024 - and top prospect Wander Franco all seemingly earmarked for spots in the Rays' infield. However, Walls - a well-rounded switch-hitting shortstop most lauded for his defense - could figure prominently into the Angels' future. He'd at least bolster a farm system that ranks among the worst in the game.

Dodgers acquire Bauer from Reds

Dodgers get Reds get
SP Trevor Bauer SP Andre Jackson
C Diego Cartaya

It's hardly a foregone conclusion that the Reds will be sellers at the deadline, their disappointing 11-16 record and less than 50-50 playoff chances notwithstanding. But the next week could very well dictate their approach, and if things go awry over the next six days, Cincinnati could look to liquidate. That process would center around Bauer, who will be one of the top free-agent arms this winter. And if the Reds make Bauer available, the Dodgers should be one of his most aggressive suitors, not because they need him but because … well, why not? They didn't need Mookie Betts, either.

Norm Hall / Getty Images

Bauer, who owns a microscopic 1.65 ERA through five starts, would turn an exceptional rotation into unequivocally the game's best. His presence would give the Dodgers a surplus of elite starters that would insure against injury to Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, or Julio Urias, while invariably bolstering the complement of bullpen weapons at manager Dave Roberts' disposal come October, too.

Yes, Los Angeles' pitching depth is already incredible without Bauer, but why exercise restraint when you have both the deepest pockets and most fertile farm system in the league, and a World Series drought that comfortably predates your best player's birth?

To be sure, both Jackson and Cartaya are good prospects. Jackson, a 23-year-old right-hander, posted a 3.06 ERA over 25 starts in the low minors last year while averaging 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Cartaya, a catcher with pop and a plus arm, cracked Baseball America's most recent top-100 list despite only just turning 18.

But the Dodgers are uniquely equipped to give up good prospects for a four-week rental - Cartaya, for one, isn't even the best catching prospect in their system - and this package is ultimately more valuable than the compensation pick the Reds would receive if Bauer signed elsewhere.

Jonah Birenbaum is theScore's senior MLB writer. He steams a good ham. You can find him on Twitter @birenball.

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