Top MLB Trade Candidates and Their Cards
A recent article by Mark Feinsand for MLB.com polled baseball executives on who the top trade candidates would be before the upcoming July trade deadline. While not every executive responded, here are the top four candidates and their rookie cards.
Framber Valdez, LHP - Houston Astros (1 Vote)
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Framber Valdez has been an Astro his entire career, signing with them as an international free agent when he was 22 years old, a little older than most international free agents. Three years later he made his MLB debut in 2018 and has gone on to win a World Series title and earn two All-Star nods, not to mention a no-hitter in August 2023.
Sitting at .500, the Houston Astros are at a crossroad with their long-time starter. He's in his final year of arbitration and Hunter Brown is an early Cy Young candidate, so with upcoming free agency, Valdez may be expendable and a chance for Houston to recoup some prospect capital.
Valdez was a rookie in the 2019 Topps sets. One of the more desireable cards for a collector is the rookie refractor autograph. While there's one on eBay's sold listings that sold for $274.99 on March 4th, however that seems to be an isolated sale as most of his PSA 10 rookie refractor autographs go for around $100.
Nolan Arenado, 3B - St. Louis Cardinals (1 Vote)
Nolan Arenado spent the first eight years with the Colorado Rockies, the team that drafted him in 2009. He made his debut in 2013, signed an 8-year deal with the Rockies prior to the 2018 season before he was traded to St. Louis in 2021. He's won 10 Gold Glove Awards, eight All-Star nods, and five Silver Slugger Awards in his career so far.
This season he's hitting .256 with three home runs and 14 RBI.
Arenado's rookie comes out of 2013 Topps products and still hold a premium regardless of his 2025 performance and the performance of his team. The above card sold, according to eBay sold listings for $137.50 on May 6th. Just a few days before that on May 4th, a higher end black refractor, graded a BGS 9.5/10 sold for a whopping $960.89.
Luis Robert, CF/DH - Chicago White Sox (5 Votes)
Luis Robert is the youngest player on the list at just 27 years old. Signed as an international free agent in 2016 after defecting from Cuba, Robert has been with the White Sox his whole career. He made his debut in 2020 and won a Gold Glove Award that year. He was also an All-Star and a Silver Slugger Award winner in 2023.
His trade value has really taken a dive the last two seasons. He hit a pedestrian .224 with just 14 home runs. And this year he's hitting under the Mendoza line. But over the last 15 games he's improved and he already has five home runs. He could easily fall into the category of 'change of scenery' kind of a guy.
Robert is a 2020 rookie. His rookie refractor auto is a reasonably priced purchase with most of his PSA GEM MT 10s going for around $100. The above is currently listed for $85 on eBay. If you want one of his parallels, collectors would be looking at spending around $150.
Sandy Alcantara, RHP - Miami Marlins (12 Votes)
Sandy Alcantara is ace of the Marlins and is a 2-time All-Star and the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner. Alcantara signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 when he was 17, he made hsi debut in 2017 and was traded to Miami just the next year in a deal that was headlined by Marcel Ozuna coming to St. Louis.
Alcantara has not had a good two years. Since winning the Cy Young in 2022 he pitched to a 4+ ERA and won seven games and lost 12. Then he under went Tommy John Surgery and missed all of 2024. Currently he has an atrocious 8.42 ERA and is averaging just over three strikeouts per game. But maybe a change of scenery is inline for Alcantara to rebound from the last few years.
Alcantara is a 2018 rookie, and his cards are reasonably priced for collectors. His rookie refractor autograph can be bought for around $25. His Bowman 1st autograph, which has him in a Cardinals uniform, can be purchased for around $60, according to multiple listings on eBay.
After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2008, Cole worked as an advertising copywriter until shifting to print journalism a few years later. Managing three weekly newspapers in the Dakotas, Cole won numerous awards from the North Dakota Newspaper Association including Best of the Dakotas and, their top award, General Excellence. He returned to collecting in 2021 and has since combined his passion for writing with his love of cards. Cole also writes for the Sports Cards Nonsense newsletter and has made guest appearances on multiple sports card collecting podcasts including Sports Cards Nonsense, and the Eephus Baseball Cards Podcast. IG: coleryan411 X: @colebenz