Fortunes can change quickly in the Major Leagues. The Blue Jays are living proof.
Their success makes it easy to forget that just over a year ago, the Blue Jays were major sellers at the 2024 Deadline. They dealt away starter Yusei Kikuchi, infielder Justin Turner, reliever Yimi García and several other key players, finishing last in the AL East with a 74-88 record.
Which clubs who traded away important pieces at this year’s Trade Deadline could follow Toronto’s path? Here are five 2025 Deadline sellers who could become 2026 Deadline buyers.
On the mound, lefty starters Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez have been strong, although the A’s will need more rotation depth and a bounce-back year from right-hander Luis Severino in 2026. Solid years from Michael Kelly and Elvis Alvarado should help the A’s field a decent relief corps even without Miller in the mix. And then there’s the prospects: Teenage phenom Leo De Vries, MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 overall prospect, probably won’t reach the Majors as soon as next season, but he’s not far off. With A’s No. 4 prospect Luis Morales just called up and A’s No. 3 and No. 6 prospects Gage Jump and Braden Nett pitching for Double-A Midland, the A’s have mound reinforcements waiting in the wings.
Of course, the Pirates will need a lot more thump in their lineup if they hope to compete. Center fielder Oneil Cruz has that and then some, but picking up a couple power bats this offseason could go a long way. Pirates No. 6 prospect Termarr Johnson, the fourth overall pick in the 2022 Draft — who is currently at Double-A — could help, if he can crack the Majors by 2026. We haven’t even mentioned MLB’s top overall prospect Konnor Griffin yet, but the 19-year-old at High-A probably won’t make it to The Show quite so soon. If he does, though? Look out for the Pirates.
It might seem like the Twins traded away just about everybody in their series of Deadline deals, but so many of their core pieces are still in place. Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan, Pablo López and Royce Lewis are among the big-name players still with a Minnesota team that picked up plenty of prospects with an eye on contending in the future. Could that be as soon as 2026? It sure could.
The Twins added a host of depth pieces to fill out their roster, including outfielder Alan Roden and right-handers Taj Bradley and Mick Abel. Those acquisitions, of course, came at the cost of three key relievers — Louis Varland, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran — but the Twins are betting they can at least approximate that production from a new-look relief corps. With top prospects Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez nearing the Major Leagues, Minnesota has the pieces — young players and veterans alike — to make a quick turnaround after a major sell-off. It might require a lot to go right, but a rapid return to the postseason is hardly far-fetched.
It’s hard to envision the White Sox — the same White Sox who lost a record 121 games last season — buying in 2026, but hear us out: It’s absolutely possible. In fact, if you’ve been watching them swing the bats since the All-Star break, it almost seems inevitable. Averaging 5.4 runs a game since the break, the second-highest scoring output in the AL, Chicago might be accelerating the timeline on its rebuild just a bit.
Sure, a team currently sitting at 44-77 isn’t likely to go out and win 90 games next year, but if the White Sox show continued improvement for the rest of the season and into 2026, it would make sense for them to seek upgrades to what looks like a promising young core. Rookie shortstop Colson Montgomery has been slugging, Luis Robert Jr. is still manning center field, and Edgar Quero, Kyle Teel, Miguel Vargas and Lenyn Sosa all appear to be part of whatever future Chicago has in store. If lefty pitching prospects Noah Schultz (MLB Pipeline No. 38 overall) and Hagen Smith (No. 93) can earn a callup by next season, things could move fast for the White Sox.
