Top Prospects Who Could Be Dealt at the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline

All five players rank in MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects, but are unlikely to be deemed untouchable.

Dodgers outfield prospect Charles Davalan ranks inside MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects. | Chris Bernacchi/Getty Images

MLB's summer trade season is rapidly approaching, and we already have an idea of which teams will be buying and who will be selling in advance of the stretch run.

There should be a lot of top players available at this year’s deadline. The uncertainty of MLB’s labor situation will play into the decisions teams across the league will make. It’s expected that some teams out of contention will attempt to unload payroll before the end of the season.

Prices for top players will be sky-high as the deadline approaches, which means top prospects will likely find new homes. Here’s a look at five top prospects who could be moved in deadline deals and are worth familiarizing yourself with.

Charles Davalan, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

MLB Pipeline rank: No. 94, Dodgers' No. 7

The Dodgers already have a loaded roster, but would anyone put it past them to go over the top to be all-in again this year? Absolutely not. They didn’t really need to sign Kyle Tucker this offseason, but they did. Just like they didn’t need to add Tommy Edman and Jack Flaherty in 2024, but they did.

There are plenty of pieces that could help L.A. chase its third consecutive World Series title, but the team will have to outbid other contenders. That shouldn’t be a problem given how loaded its farm system is. I currently have the Dodgers with seven top-100 prospects, five of whom are outfielders. They can afford to move some guys. Davalan feels like the kind of guy they'd be willing to send to get better.

The 22-year-old was the 41st pick in the 2025 MLB draft out of Arkansas, and the former Razorback has been excellent in his first full season. He has a great hit tool and is a plus runner as well as a solid defender. He’s undersized at 5'9" and 190 pounds, but does produce some hard contact out of a smooth lefty swing. He’s unlikely to become a huge power threat, but he projects as a big-league starter with great instincts at the plate and in the field, and a bit of pop.

Through 57 games at High A, he’s slashing .271/.404/.452 with eight home runs, 32 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 13 attempts. He also has an impressive 38 walks against 31 strikeouts, showing his discipline at the plate.

Jaxon Wiggins is the Cubs' No. 3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jaxon Wiggins, RHP, Chicago Cubs

MLB Pipeline rank: No. 85, Cubs' No. 3

The Cubs are a contender this year, though they’re already eight games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. They need a boost, particularly in the rotation. Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon are currently on the IL, while Cade Horton has been lost for the season to Tommy John surgery and Justin Steele still isn’t recovered from his Tommy John surgery last year.

The Cubs have a solid crop of prospects to dangle in a deal, but I’d wager shortstop Jefferson Rojas and infielder Pedro Ramírez are untouchable. The top player I could see them parting with is righty Jaxon Wiggins, who has incredibly high upside but will be 25 in October and has been sidelined since April due to elbow inflammation.

A 2023 draftee, Wiggins is a classic power pitcher at 6'6" and 225 pounds. He can run his fastball up to triple digits and has a great low-90s slider. His changeup has improved a lot, while he has a curveball that he could probably scrap since it hasn’t shown any real life. He had Tommy John surgery before his junior year at Arkansas, but the Cubs selected him with the 68th pick in the draft anyway. There is a lot of upside here but high injury risk, which is why Chicago could be willing to move him.

Felnin Celesten, SS, Seattle Mariners

MLB Pipeline rank: No. 98, Mariners' No. 7

After a rough start, the Mariners now lead the AL West but face a tight battle with the Athletics and Rangers. Just like last year, Seattle is going to need help on offense in its chase for its first World Series berth.

Luckily, the Mariners have a stacked farm system to deal from, with six or seven top-100 prospects to move. Pitchers Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan and outfielder Lazaro Montes feel untouchable, but others could be moved. Felnin Celesten fits that bill.

Seattle signed Celesten for $4.7 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2023 as a switch-hitting, five-tool shortstop. He’s now 20 years old, and while he still has plenty of upside, he’s been passed by other players in the system. With Colt Emerson firmly entrenched as the team’s shortstop of the future, Celesten might be expendable in the right deal.

Celesten has performed well in High A this season, slashing .313/.415/.479 with seven home runs, 37 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. He has enough arm, range and instincts to stick at short long term, is a plus runner and has a plus hit tool who makes good swing decisions. The only question is whether he'll develop power as he ages. He should be able to find some in his 6'1" frame.

Catcher Ethan Salas is the Padres' consensus top prospect. | Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

Ethan Salas, C, San Diego Padres

MLB Pipeline rank: No. 49, Padres' No. 1

Padres general manager A.J. Preller has traded nearly every top prospect he’s had and developed since taking the job in mid-2014. Other than Jackson Merrill, he’s wiped the slate clean of them all. After watching many of them go on to become All-Stars, it doesn’t appear he’s learned his lesson, as evidenced by the big swing he made for closer Mason Miller at last year’s deadline. Giving up shortstop Leo De Vries as part of a four-player package for a one-inning reliever shocked the baseball world, but, for better or worse, it has long been Preller’s M.O.

San Diego remains in contention this season despite possessing one of MLB’s worst offenses. It has been a persistent issue, and if Preller wants his team to compete, he’ll need to add a big bat. Or several. Given how often he has cleaned out his own farm system to make splashy moves, he doesn’t have a ton of top-end prospects to deal. That’s why Ethan Salas is on this list.

Salas’s journey from top international prospect in 2023 to where he is now has been a bit of a yo-yo. He debuted a few months after signing in A ball and slashed .267/.350/.487 in 48 games with nine home runs and 35 RBIs. But his bat was a mess at High A in '24 and at Double A in '25 before a stress reaction in his back put him out of the season. He has bounced back in '26, showing why he was once considered the best catching prospect in the game.

Salas is slashing .282/.342/.436 with seven home runs, 33 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. The bat has come around, he’s showing good power and exit velocities and plus speed for a catcher. He is also an elite backstop, with a laser for an arm and an advanced feel for the position. He just turned 20 and, on his current path, should open 2027 in the big leagues.

If Preller is going to swing a big deal, every team he negotiates with will ask for Salas. Given his track record of overpaying to get the guys he wants, it’s unlikely anyone in the system is truly untouchable.

Gage Wood, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies

MLB Pipeline rank: No. 68, Phillies' No. 2

After a 9–19 start, the Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson, replaced him with Don Mattingly and are now rolling. Philadelphia has gone 31–14 since Mattingly took over, and a team that is all-in on this season looks like what it was projected to be before the season. That almost certainly means president of baseball operation Dave Dombrowski will go for it at the deadline.

The Phillies have a solid system, but likely have two untouchable young guys in righty Andrew Painter and shortstop Aidan Miller. To shore up an offense that ranks 27th in OPS (.685), they’ll have to give up something of value. Righty Gage Wood was the team’s first-rounder in 2025, and he’ll likely be the guy teams ask about.

Wood has a fastball that flirts with the upper-90s, plus a good mid-80s curveball. His slider and changeup are still works in progress, but he has a power arsenal in his 6' frame. He’s up to Double A now and, in four starts has a 3.21 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 19 strikeouts against three walks in 14 innings. He feels like a guy who will come quickly.

Philadelphia won’t want to give up Wood, so it likely won’t surrender him for a rental, but there’s no way he’s untouchable.

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