Trade Deadline Buzz: Top Names Likely to Move

0:00It's May 2nd, I'm Cory with the story, and this is MLB News Today, your AI-powered baseball briefing. Trade deadline is still three months out on August 3rd, but MLB front offices are already buzzing with deal talks earlier than usual. Philly's boss, Dave Dembrowski, just fired the manager and admitted he's fielding calls from teams off to slow starts. In our poll of 20 execs, they picked the biggest names likely to move, led by Marlon's pitcher, Sandy Alcantara, with four votes, national shortstop, CJ Abrams and Twins Hurler, Joe Ryan, with three each. Alcantara tops the list after bouncing back strong from Tommy John's surgery. The 2022 S.I. young winner has a 3.04 ERA over seven starts, leading the majors and innings and his stuff looks sharp. Again, with better with rates and less hard contact. At 17.3 million this year plus a team option, he's a steal compared to free agents, especially if Miami stays around 500. Abrams is mashing with eight homers and a 0.960 OPS in 31 games, but his defense is rough,

1:06worst in baseball by metrics. Still, execs say his back could outweigh that for contenders. Ryan's steady, with a solid 3.76 ERA early, and Twins might shop him like last year since he's arbitration eligible soon. Jordan Alvarez got two votes despite crushing it for the Astros who sit 12 and 20. One vote guys include Tigers, Ace Terrick Scooball, Philly's Zach Wheeler amid their own slump, and even Angel star Mike Trout as a wild hot take. Free agents like Luis Areyes and controllable arms, rounded out. Slow starts from usual powerhouses mean deals could heat up fast, shaking up rotations and lineups before July hits. Keep watching these names as front offices weigh, buys versus sells.