MLB Trade Rumors: Top 4 Trade Candidate Pitchers Entering the 2026 Season

The baseball trade deadline isn't until the end of July, but there are certainly some trades that we could see before that. In particular, teams will start to lose pitchers to injuries, it's an inevitability every season. Death, taxes and Tommy John.

So let's take a look at the top 5 trade candidates on the mound that we should keep our eyes on as the 2026 season quickly approaches:

Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins

Now where have we heard this one before? It was exactly a year ago, when Alcantara was beginning his comeback season from Tommy John surgery, that we first began hearing serious trade rumors surrounding the Marlins' former Cy Young winner.

Now that his first post-TJ season is out of the way, with its multitude of ups-and-downs (mainly downs, in this case), the 30-year-old is ready for that 'year after the year after' effect, when he could return to full strength, and be a top-end of the rotation ace once again. Trade talks will pick up considerably, quickly enough.

Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins

The 29-year-old is coming off his second straight ace-worthy year with the Twins, but he became a prime trade candidate at last year's deadline and all this offseason as the Twins are in rebuild mode. Ryan posted a 3.42 ERA with 194 strikeouts last season, and will continue to be highly-coveted for teams in need of an ace.

Kodai Senga, New York Mets

Here's a guy who exploded onto the scene as a Japanese import in 2023, posting an elite 2.98 ERA with a 1.12 WHIP and 10.9 K/9. He was an All-Star and finished 7th in Cy Young balloting. But 2024 was a lost season due to injuries to his shoulder and then his calf. In 2025, it was hoped he'd return to form. Senga was 7-3 with a 1.39 ERA through his first 14 starts in early July. Then it all came crashing down, again fueled in part by injuries, and by September he was even sent down to the minors.

The Mets are looking to move on from Senga and turn the rotation over to their new ace Freddy Peralta, along with the young hot prospect pitchers like Nolan McLean.

Luis Severino, Sacramento Athletics

Here's an under-the-radar starter that can be had, due to his hefty $20M salary this season. The A's don't like to spend that type of money, and Severino just doesn't like pitching in that Sacramento minor league park. He posted a 6.01 ERA and 1.53 WHIP at home last year. On the road, he was a legit star, reminiscent of his Yankees All-Star days in the first incarnation of his time there. He posted a 3.02 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP in Sutter Health Park in 14 starts last year in SacTown.