MLB Trade Deadline 2024: Three trades that should be made

The MLB trade deadline is nearly upon us. Contenders have just a few more days to bolster their rosters to make a postseason push. Teams already looking to 2025 and beyond have an opportunity to add young talent to their rebuilding or retooling effort.

The deadline is on June 30 at 6 p.m. ET and the only trades that can be made after that are those involving players not on 40-man rosters.

Here are three trades I’d like to see made by the deadline:

Detroit Tigers trade LHP Tarik Skubal to the Baltimore Orioles for INF Jackson Holliday, OF/1B Heston Kjerstad and LHP Luis De Leon

The Tigers aren’t necessarily looking to trade Skubal, who is a strong contender for the American League Cy Young Award with his 11-3 record and 2.34 ERA in 20 starts. However, Detroit seems certain to miss the playoffs for the 10th straight year and could land some premium young players in return for a 27-year-old lefty who is not eligible for free agency until after the 2026 season.

The Orioles would be the perfect trade partner for the Tigers as Baltimore has a deep pool of talented young hitters who can’t crack the major-league lineup.

Baltimore could begin their offer with middle infielder Jackson Holliday. He began the season as the consensus top overall prospect in baseball but hit a measly .059/.111/.059 in 10 games while striking out in 18 of 36 plate appearances in his first taste of the big leagues.

However, Holliday is just 20 years old, and two years removed from being the top overall pick in the draft.

Kjerstad was the second pick in the 2020 draft but has been blocked in the Orioles’ system. In 24 games with Baltimore this season, the 25-year-old has a .286/.412/.482 slash line with three home runs.

De Leon would be an interesting third piece as a 21-year-old reliever ranked as the Orioles’ 10th-best prospect by Baseball America and No. 16 by MLB.com.

Chicago White Sox trade LHP Garrett Crochet to the Los Angeles Dodgers for RHP Bobby Miller, OF Josue DePaula, C/1B Thayron Liranzo

There is little doubt Crochet will be wearing a new uniform next week after talks between the 25-year-old and the White Sox on a long-term contract went nowhere earlier this year.

Crochet’s record is just 6-7 but his ERA is 3.07. Most impressive are his 157 strikeouts in 111 1/3 innings. However, the converted reliever has already set a professional high in innings, which means his availability could be limited for the rest of the year.

Nevertheless, the injured-riddled Dodgers could use Crochet, even if forced to utilize him out of the bullpen down the stretch and into the postseason. They would also have him for at least two more seasons before he could become a free agent.

The Dodgers could start their offer with Miller. The 25-year-old is currently in Triple-A after struggling with injuries this season but was 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA in 22 starts as a rookie in 2023. Miller is a Chicagoland native and won’t become a free agent until at least 2029.

The 19-year-old De Paula and the 21-year-old Liranzo are both playing at the Single-A level. De Paula is ranked as the No. 50 prospect in the game by Baseball America and 62nd by MLB.com. BA ranks Liranzo as the Dodgers’ No. 3 prospect and MLB.com has him at No. 8.

Chicago White Sox trade CF Luis Robert Jr. to the Philadelphia Phillies for SS/3B Aidan Miller and OF Justin Crawford

The White Sox are already 50 games under .500 with their 27-77 record, so they might as well blow up their roster further by trading Robert, who belted 38 home runs and stole 20 base last season. Slowed by injury, Robert is hitting .227/.299/.476 with 12 homers and 12 steals in 49 games this year.

Robert would be a perfect fit for the Phillies as a big upgrade in center field over Johan Rojas. Robert is also signed through next season and his contract has $20-million team options for both 2026 and 2027.

The White Sox would receive two premium prospects in Crawford, who is playing at Double-A and Miller, who is playing in Class A. MLB.com has Miller as the 27th-best prospect in baseball and Baseball America has him at No. 43 while Crawford is ranked No. 37 by BA and No. 55 by MLB.com.