MLB trade deadline rumors: Astros eye offense, Phillies search for outfield bat, Orioles open to reunion

The 2024 MLB trade deadline is less than a week away. Luis Arraez, Aaron Civale, and Hunter Harvey have already been traded, and you can be sure more players will be on the move between now and next Tuesday. Here are the latest deadline rumors.

Orioles open to Flaherty reunion

The AL East leading Orioles are open to a reunion with righty Jack Flaherty, according to The Athletic. They’re also keeping tabs on just about every worthwhile reliever. Flaherty, now with the Tigers, had a 6.75 ERA in seven starts and two relief appearances with the O’s after a deadline trade with the Cardinals last summer. He is our No. 14 trade candidate.

Still only 28, Flaherty is having a terrific season in Detroit, and he’s been at the top of his game lately. He has a 2.40 ERA and is averaging close to six innings in his last 12 starts. Opponents are hitting only .196/.235/.361 against him. Flaherty is a rental and the O’s could use a starter with control beyond 2024, though a quality starter is the priority. If it’s a rental, so be it.

Astros interested in Paredes

The Astros have interest in Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes, report The Athletic. Houston could use Paredes at first base, a position he has played plenty over the years, the rest of this season, then slide him back over to third base to replace free agent-to-be Alex Bregman next year. Paredes is under team control through 2027. He is our No. 11 trade candidate.

Paredes, 25, would fit especially well in Minute Maid Park. He is a right-handed hitter and an extreme pulled fly-ball hitter — Paredes has pulled 24.1% of his fly balls this season, easily the highest rate in baseball — and the Crawford Boxes in left field beckon. Paredes is not the most nimble third-base defender, though he could put up some monster home run totals in Houston. 

Phillies interested in Finnegan, Thomas

The Phillies are interested in Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan and outfielder Lane Thomas, according to The Athletic. Philadelphia has had some bullpen trouble this month, plus there’s a clear need for another outfield bat, so perhaps a one-stop shop trade with the NL East rival Nats can be made. Washington already traded setup man Hunter Harvey. Finnegan could be next to go.

As for Lane, the 28-year-old has been a reliably above-average bat the last few years, and, like Finnegan, he would remain under team control through 2025. The Phillies currently have the light-hitting Johan Rojas in center, but could plop Thomas into left field and slide Brandon Marsh to center, significantly upgrading their offense without taking too big a bite out of their defense.

Pirates could move pitching for offense

With so many teams in the postseason race, we could see more MLB player-for-MLB player trades at the deadline (as opposed to MLB player for prospects), and Pirates GM Ben Cherington hinted at the possibility of trading pitching for offense earlier this week. Pittsburgh has quietly won eight of their last 10 games. They’re only a game out of a wild-card spot.

“We want to find a way to improve the team. Hard to predict how that’s going to play out. But we’ll keep working at it,” Cherington said (via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). “… If you look at our team in terms of how we rank inside the league, we’ve been a little better on run prevention than we have on scoring. That’s a fact. So it makes sense that we would like to improve scoring.”

Needless to say, Jared Jones and Paul Skenes are off-limits. Mitch Keller too, and possibly Luis L. Ortiz as well. If the Pirates do move an arm for a bat, they would presumably move rental lefties Marco Gonzales and Martín Pérez, limiting the upside of the return. Controllable lefty Bailey Falter could interest teams, though he’s currently on the injured list with a triceps issue.