Major League Baseball's trade deadline is eight days away. Most of the attention this summer has been focused on the Los Angeles Angels and whether or not they'll part with two-way star Shohei Ohtani. Naturally, that's led to speculation about the usual high rollers -- those teams who can justify giving up young talent if it means boosting their chances of either winning a World Series or gaming an advantage in this winter's Ohtani sweepstakes.
We here at CBS Sports try to cover every team as much as possible, and today that means shining a spotlight on six smaller-market playoff contenders: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays. Below, you'll find one realistic trade target for each of those clubs who would help them address an area of need.
A word of warning: We've avoided any player mentioned in our most recent top-20 rankings. These are the album cuts; this piece is for the sickos. That's by design: the six teams teams here often bypass the top of the market in search of someone who fits their system and their budget -- and who doesn't force them to empty their farm.
Let's get to it.
1. Arizona Diamondbacks: RHP Paul Blackburn (A's)
Blackburn is the name you miss on a Sporcle quiz about the 2022 American League All-Star Game. The A's right-hander been limited by injury this season, and when he has pitched he's allowed too many hits to preserve his ERA.
We're including Blackburn anyway because his ball-tracking metrics are excellent following a pitch-usage shift that has him throwing his sinker less -- that alteration has left him with four pitches that have usage rates between 18% and 23%. He's still suppressing quality of contact and generating chases at levels that make him an obvious candidate to improve heading forward. The A's could technically control Blackburn's services through the 2025 season, but there's no reason to bet on them keeping anyone over the age of 28 for any length of time.
2. Baltimore Orioles: LHP Joey Wentz (Tigers)
Wentz, a Tigers lefty, isn't a particularly exciting name, but he would make sense in a few respects for the Orioles, who just kicked off their trade season by obtaining Shintaro Fujinami from the Athletics. Wentz has struggled with giving up home runs to right-handed batters -- something that pitching in front of Walltimore would solve -- and he seems like an appropriate candidate to use his four-seamer less in favor of his cutter, curve, and changeup. The Tigers may not be in a hurry to move Wentz given that he's not yet eligible for arbitration, but the Orioles have the prospect depth to persuade them.
3. Cincinnati Reds: LHP Ryan Yarbrough (Royals)
Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo are slated to return to the Reds rotation sometime in August. If they come up short on landing a bigger name to upgrade their starting five, then Yarbrough might make some sense as a veteran lefty who has shown a willingness to work in relief. We'll grant that Yarbrough's overall statistics are not impressive and that he has a tiny margin for error. He remains excellent at suppressing quality of contact and limiting walks, however, and he's been effective in the past when his outings have been micromanaged.
4. Miami Marlins: INF Andy Ibañez (Tigers)
The Marlins could use an upgrade at the hot corner. Jean Segura's bat has shown flickers of life in July, but it's hard to ignore how poorly he hit over the season's first three months.
Ibañez, though not flashy, would represent an upgrade. He's a good, versatile defender who makes a lot of contact. He's barreled more balls this season than his raw numbers indicate, too. The Tigers are almost certainly more open minded about moving Ibañez, who'll celebrate his 31st birthday next spring, than if he were just a few years younger.
5. Milwaukee Brewers: LHP Sam Moll (A's)
The Brewers already have a solid bullpen in place. Moll has the kind of funky profile that they'd be willing to find a home for anyway. He's an extremely short strider, to the extent that he's the only big-league pitcher with an extension reading under five feet (he's at 4.80 feet). You might think that would cause his pitches to play down, but Moll's sinker/slider combination (delivered from a sidearm slot) does a good job of hampering loud contact. If there's a drawback here, it's that he's far more effective against same-handed batters. The Brewers have helped Hoby Milner become more than a lefty specialist, however, so maybe they could do the same for Moll.
6. Tampa Bay Rays: LHP Austin Gomber (Rockies)
Maybe this one is cheating since the Rays have been known to have past interest in Gomber. Their rotation has been wrecked by injuries, to the extent that they're almost certain to add someone at the deadline. Gomber's overall statistics are putrid, but the recent Shintaro Fujinami trade shows that teams aren't just looking at the stat sheet anymore. Getting Gomber away from Coors Field wouldn't hurt, and maybe Tampa Bay could unlock a higher level of performance by getting him to lean into using his breaking balls more.
