2025-26 MLB offseason: Ranking players who could be traded - ESPN

With baseball's annual winter meetings set to begin next week in Orlando, Florida, and some intriguing moves already stoking the fire of this hot stove season, it's time to rank the top players who could be included — or at least rumored to move — in trades the rest of the winter.

Baseball's trade market is constantly evolving, and to keep you updated, we have ranked the top 25 potential trade candidates based on players' performance — and identified the teams that could be involved in potential deals.

Though some of the players on this list are unlikely to be dealt, they're at least being discussed in potential deals, and other names could emerge in updates to this list as the offseason plays out.

Note: Players ranked by value for their new team if traded, not likelihood of being dealt.

The buzz: Despite several executives believing Skubal will move, the Tigers have shown no sign of deviating from their position that the back-to-back American League Cy Young winner will stay in Detroit. Though he's a free agent after 2026 and contract extension discussions have gone nowhere, Skubal is the Tigers' centerpiece player, and Detroit intends to contend again next season.

The scouting report: After back-to-back AL Cy Young awards, Skubal is the best pitcher in the game, with Paul Skenes on his heels. Like most aces, Skubal tinkered to find an extra gear. Skubal's changeup was the best in baseball this past season by a significant margin. His usage of the pitch over the past five years went from 12% in 2021 to 15% in 2022 to 24% in 2023 to 27% in 2024 and 31% in 2025, his most-used pitch.

The velocity of his fastball (+1.8 mph) and changeup (+3.7 mph) has gone up over the past two years with the same, if not better, pitch