David Schoenfield, ESPN Senior Writer 7y

From Archer to Yu (Darvish): Every team's untouchable player at the trade deadline

With the trade deadline right around the corner, the general managers of every team are evaluating what they have as well as what they need -- and whom they would never give up to get what they want. Looking at all 30 teams, who is that guy, the one player they couldn't -- or shouldn't -- deal? But not just the obvious "must keep" franchise players, like Bryce Harper or Aaron Judge. We know they won't get traded. But after that kind of player, who's the guy who shouldn't get moved under any circumstance?

National League

Arizona Diamondbacks: Domingo Leyba, 2B/SS. The D-backs will be looking to add to the big league team, but they entered the season with no top-100 prospects, so making an impact deal may be difficult. Pitcher Jon Duplantier has had a big season and made the Futures Game, but Leyba is a young middle infielder, just recently off the DL, who has shown some pop and bat control at a young age and looks like a sleeper impact bat.

Atlanta Braves: Julio Teheran, RHP. Freddie Freeman is really the only untouchable player in the organization, although All-Star Ender Inciarte is close with his team-friendly contract that makes him a payroll bargain. Like a lot of pitchers, Teheran has been hit by the home run bug, and even though the Braves have young pitching on the way, you never exactly know about young pitching. Teheran is signed through 2020 and makes 30 starts every season and you need those guys.

Chicago Cubs: Adbert Alzolay, RHP. They just traded Eloy Jimenez, Keith Law's No. 5 prospect on his midseason top 50 list, so that means nobody in the farm system is off limits at this point. Alzolay dominated at high-A before a recent promotion to Double-A, where he struck out 10 in five innings in his first start. The Venezuelan suddenly looks like a guy who may be able to help out the Cubs as soon as 2018. Plus, he'd be the first Adbert in the majors. Of course, Jimenez would have been the first Eloy.

Cincinnati Reds: Raisel Iglesias, RHP. As they shop Zack Cozart, teams will inquire about Iglesias, who is having a dominant year as the closer, with a 1.65 ERA and 53 strikeouts and .159 average allowed in 43 2/3 innings. He's under team control through 2021 and has shown he can go multiple innings in relief, so it would require an Andrew Miller- or Aroldis Chapman-type package to get him.

Colorado Rockies: Brendan Rodgers, SS. As good as Trevor Story was as a rookie in 2016, his struggles in 2017 suggest he's not necessarily the long-term answer at shortstop. The Rockies may want to add a starting pitcher, but they shouldn't deal Rodgers, No. 18 on Keith's midseason list, who has reached Double-A at age 20.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Walker Buehler, RHP. The 24th pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt, Buehler had Tommy John surgery after signing, so this is his first full season in pro ball. He's flashed an upper-90s fastball while striking out 91 in 65 1/3 innings between A-ball and Double-A. He could probably help the Dodgers out of the bullpen in the postseason and then compete for a rotation job next spring. And if they want to upgrade the big league roster, there is still plenty of talent on the farm, including Alex Verdugo, Yadier Alvarez and Willie Calhoun.

Miami Marlins: Christian Yelich, OF. His season is a little disappointing in the context of the rising power numbers across the game, but he's still a good player who had a 5.3 WAR season in 2016 and is signed through 2022 at bargain rates. You want to get guys like this, not trade them away.

Milwaukee Brewers: Lewis Brinson, OF. Brinson and 2016 first-rounder Corey Ray represented the Brewers at the Futures Game, and both showed why scouts love their physical tools. Brinson struggled in a 14-game big league call-up, but Ray is the outfielder to trade given his contact issues in the Carolina League.

New York Mets: Jacob deGrom, RHP. There was a rumor out there about the Astros poking around about deGrom, but as miserable a season as it has been for the Mets, there's no need to tear things down. Keep deGrom, hope Noah Syndergaard is healthy, make way for Amed Rosario as the new shortstop, and there's no reason they can't be contenders in 2018.

Philadelphia Phillies: Aaron Nola, RHP. Not that they would consider trading him, but with Vince Velasquez injured, Jerad Eickhoff having a mediocre season and Jake Thompson getting shelled in Triple-A, the future Phillies rotation doesn't look so hot. You don't trade the one guy who is a foundation piece.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Gerrit Cole, RHP. There are obvious reasons to trade Andrew McCutchen, but less obvious ones to trade Cole. He's certainly been one of the bigger disappointments in the majors with a 4.35 ERA and 20 home runs allowed, but trading him now would be selling low. They still have him under contract for two more seasons and while there are doubts he ever becomes the ace he once appeared he'd be, the Pirates need him to contend in 2018 and '19.

St. Louis Cardinals: Jack Flaherty, RHP. Sometimes the best move at the trade deadline is no move at all. The Cardinals are under .500 and have to be honest with themselves: Is this a team that can win a championship? No. So keep your prospects like Flaherty, who has emerged as the No. 50 prospect on the Keith's midseason update, or the injured Alex Reyes.

San Diego Padres: Jose Torres, LHP. Pretty much anyone in the bullpen is available, including Brad Hand, Ryan Buchter, Kirby Yates and Brandon Maurer, but the hard-throwing rookie lefty is the one to keep.

San Francisco Giants: Brandon Belt, 1B. Obviously, Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner are off-limits, but there could be some interest in Belt, who is signed through 2021. His salary jumps up to $17.2 million the next four seasons, however, so the Giants should listen, but be cautious. His .243/.349/.470 line isn't great, but his park-adjusted wRC+ is still better than Mookie Betts, Robinson Cano, Nolan Arenado, Miguel Cabrera or Xander Bogaerts. Granted, only Cabrera is a first baseman, but Belt isn't the problem in San Francisco.

Washington Nationals: Victor Robles, OF. Look, the Nationals need a closer they can trust in October, but they also need to think to the future a bit. With Jayson Werth aging, Adam Eaton dealing with a major knee injury and a certain superstar running out of years left before free agency, dealing a potential outfield star isn't worth it to land a one-inning guy.

American League

Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado, 3B. The Orioles are fading and Machado is a free agent after 2018 -- with the Orioles unlikely to sign him -- so the trade rumors are starting up. With Machado struggling to get his OBP over .300, in one regard this is a good time to trade him, because the fans may not be as upset about trading Machado in the midst of a bad season. On the other hand, you may not extract max value. If I'm the Orioles, I play out the season and re-evaluate where the team stands in the offseason rather than do something rash.

Boston Red Sox: Rafael Devers, 3B. Yes, Dave Dombrowski has never met a prospect he wouldn't trade, but this is one he should keep. The Red Sox have a hole at third base? Then call up this kid and resist the temptation to include him in a deal for a veteran.

Chicago White Sox: Yoan Moncada, 3B. Jose Quintana? Gone. David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, or Todd Frazier? They're gone, too. All-Star Avisail Garcia? Heck, sell high if you can. So let's try Moncada again here. I had him listed as Boston's untouchable last year, and we all know how well that worked out. But the White Sox are on to something with this rebuild and stockpiling young talent is at the heart of their plan.

Cleveland Indians: Triston McKenzie, RHP. Catcher Francisco Mejia isn't going anywhere, but I'd make this rail-thin 19-year-old off-limits as well. He doesn't turn 20 until August, but as one of the youngest players in the Carolina League he has still dominated with 124 strikeouts in 96⅔ innings.

Detroit Tigers: Michael Fulmer, RHP. The Tigers are bad and expensive, which is kind of like facing Aaron Judge in a Home Run Derby with a Wiffle ball bat. The long-term contracts for Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander mean payroll flexibility is limited in upcoming seasons. In other words: Anyone is available -- or should be -- with the exception of Fulmer.

Houston Astros: Kyle Tucker, OF. Tucker may have been bait in a Jose Quintana trade, but now that Quintana's off the board, the Astros should keep Tucker as the 20-year-old is tearing up Double-A since his promotion. This kid looks like a future All-Star and while the Astros are in win-now mode, I don't think Sonny Gray is juicy enough to pry Tucker away.

Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer, 1B; Mike Moustakas, 3B; Lorenzo Cain, CF. The Royals have the best record in the AL since June 1 and have climbed back in the AL Central and wild-card races. In April, they looked like sellers, but not now. Maybe you lose all these guys as free agents, but give it one last run and hope for a memorable going-away party.

Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout, CF. I couldn't come up with somebody clever here. What, you think Angels fans are insisting on keeping Bud Norris?

Minnesota Twins: Ervin Santana, RHP. The Twins could sell high on the All-Star starter, but teams are too smart today to overpay for him. Considering Santana is signed for 2018 with a 2019 team option and given the state of the rest of the Minnesota rotation other than up-and-coming Jose Berrios, trading Santana could be a step backward for a young team that is getting closer.

New York Yankees: Chance Adams, RHP. The Yankees have a loaded farm system if they want to make an upgrade at the trade deadline, but this is one pitching prospect I'd hold on to, especially since he could help the rotation down the stretch. He has a 2.60 ERA in Triple-A, holding opponents to a .164 average. He's primarily a fastball/slider guy, but has a developing changeup and minor leaguers haven't been able to touch him. Let's see if the stuff plays at the big-league level as well.

Oakland Athletics: Sean Manaea, LHP. For the right price, anybody else could be traded, including Khris Davis, although Sonny Gray, Yonder Alonso and a couple of the veteran relievers are most likely to be dealt.

Seattle Mariners: James Paxton, LHP. The Mariners are in no-man's land, a veteran team with a bad farm system currently sitting under .500 and on the fringes of the wild-card race. The Jean Segura extension likely means they'll keep this team together for another season and hope for a healthier rotation in 2018. In the meantime, teams will inquire about Paxton and get turned down.

Tampa Bay Rays: Chris Archer, RHP. Stop. Enough. The Rays are not trading him to the Dodgers, they're not trading him to the Astros, they're not going to trade him. Look at his salaries the next four seasons: $6.4 million, $7.67 million, $9 million and $11 million. He's good and he's a bargain. Oh, and there's a good chance he starts the wild-card game.

Texas Rangers: Yu Darvish, RHP. Things haven't clicked for the Rangers, and while Darvish is a free agent and would bring a nice return, they're not out of the wild-card race at the moment. The Rangers will also look at the big picture: They'd like to not only re-sign Darvish, but if they re-sign him they'd also have better odds of signing Japanese superstar Shohei Otani when he gets posted.

Toronto Blue Jays: Marcus Stroman, RHP. Note who I didn't list -- Josh Donaldson.

^ Back to Top ^