2027 Trade Deadline: National League Buyers Edition

The 2027 deadline for team's hoping to make a playoff push is a little over 8 hours away. Calls are being made and prices negotiated. Seller's are still holding out hope for team's to meet their asks while buyers try to negotiate the best deal that works for them. There are several clubs who are already looking towards 2028 and beyond, but with the addition of an extra team in the postseason in each league and the elimination of the one game wildcard more teams are finding themselves still in the picture to add talent as the clock ticks down.

Here's a brief look at this year's buyers and where they could be looking to add.

The National League East

Perhaps a surprise to some, the Philadelphia Phillies currently sit atop the East with a four game lead over the New York Mets. The Mets have surged of late into a tie for a Wild Card spot, currently sharing the second and final position with the St. Louis Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals, despite things not having gone as anticipated this year, still only find themselves 3.5 games out of a playoff spot. Three teams are all in the hunt in the East, let's take a look at where they stand with ~8 hours to go until the Deadline. The Phillies are one of the teams I am most interested in seeing how their deadline unfolds. They captured a Wild Card spot in 2021 that saw them fall in the Division Series to the Atlanta Braves, but otherwise have not made the playoffs since 2009. One time over the past 18 years. General Manager Ryan Connors should be pushing all in where he can to upgrade the roster. Max Muncy may very well be at the end of the line and Manuel Margot hasn't been able to replicate his 2026 success. How about a Josh VanMeter and Mike Trout package deal bringing the Kid home to finish out his career? It would have to be creative and the salaries would have to equal out, but Philadelphia has some top tier prospects that could be enticing enough for the Angels to make the move. If, and I say if, Mike Trout approves. I'm not really sure how the Mets are in contention after losing Pete Alonso and Dinelson Lamet in the Expansion Draft, but here we are. Consistently a .500 ballclub or better, the Mets have overachieved a bit to this point but have plenty of budget space to upgrade the ballclub should they see a fit. A couple of names to watch? How about Nashville's Bobby Miller or Joey Wentz, the Dodgers' Connor Jones, Angels' Eric Lauer, Seattle's Nick Gonzales and Cincinnati's Logan Gilbert. My mind is leaning that the Nationals are going to end up selling, but if General Manager Patrick Johnson decides that the seller's market isn't where he feels it should be, he could easily turn to try to buy and piece together a squad to challenge for a playoff spot. If this happens, cost efficient names really should be the only ones considered. Pittsburgh's D'Shawn Knowles, Texas' Johan Oviedo, and Los Angeles' Triston McKenzie could all make sense as rentals upgrades.

The National League North

The biggest division lead in the National League might also be the most complete division the league? Weird. The Milwaukee Brewers have opened up a 14.5 game lead in the North despite the fourth place Chicago Cubs being just one game under .500. The aforementioned St. Louis Cardinals currently sit in the second Wild Card spot with the two Chicago clubs looming just 2 and 2.5 games back. The Brewers have emerged as the class of the National League entering play today with an FTD best .657 winning percentage. Their pitching staff ranks 1st or 2nd in nearly every team statistic, headlined by Patrick Wicklander and Josh Hader. They've been active already in the trade market leading up the deadline, acquiring Kyle Tucker, Liover Peguero and Mason Martin all from the Pittsburgh Pirates. It will be interesting to see if and where General Manager Minwook Choi decides to address his club at this year's deadline. You hate to say that a team has absolutely zero holes, but this Brewers 26 man roster looks pretty close to that. The Cardinals have absolutely stumbled of late, currently 7-16 in the month of July and falling out of the North race. Still, they sit in a playoff position and I get the feeling that they are ready to shake things up. With a ton of budget space, I could see this deadline being similar to the deadline of the Atlanta Braves a few seasons back where they made moves simply to re-tool the roster rather than 'buy' or 'sell'. I have to wonder if Nolan Gorman or Dylan Carlson will see a change of scenery after hitting a wall these past couple of seasons in St. Louis. Could one of Seattle's big three outfielders be a candidate to land in St. Louis? Could they make a splash for a starting pitcher? Baltimore's DL Hall is on an expiring deal and could flourish getting out of Camden Yards. The White Sox have done a good job of late developing their young talent and getting them to the big league level. Joey Fats is going to bet on a second half resurgence from Andrew Vaughn to help propel the lineup, but if the White Sox are serious about contending they will absolutely need to upgrade the rotation and bullpen both. There have been plenty of names mentioned already, but Oviedo, Grant Holmes, and Sandy Alcantara make a lot of sense for rotation options while DeMarcus Evans, Connor Jones, and Sandi Charle could all help the backend of the White Sox pen. This is a deadline where, if they go for it, they will need to acquire multiple arms. It feels as if we have been waiting for the Cubs to roll into contention for quite some time now, but it hasn't happened yet. There have been steps along the way and the young talent is reaching the big league level, but it hasn't been put all together yet. It's a young pitching staff, but if General Manager Justin Koonce decides to push then Nashville's Joey Wentz and the Angels' Dustin May could be two bigger name starting pitchers that the Cubs could spend on (they have the money) to pair with Eric Pardinho and Jim Stanton.

The National League South

The Atlanta Braves have left the East behind and currently sit 5 games ahead in the newly formed National League South. The Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins are both right in the middle of the Wild Card race and still within reaching distance in the South. Tampa Bay, after a slow start, has jumped Miami in the standings. The Marlins, after a hot start, are 7-16 in July. The Braves are all too familiar with reaching the postseason and now will gear up to try to win their first South title and, the ultimate goal, final capture a World Series title. I'd look for Atlanta to address the pitching staff with names like Grant Holmes, Joey Wentz, Luis Severino, Johan Oviedo, and Triston McKenzie being of interest. If the Nationals sell, this could be a perfect landing spot for Willy Adames. The Tampa Bay Rays ideally would upgrade their rotation at this year's deadline. They have five viable options but they don't have that front of the rotation type of arm. Could they turn to Washington for Luis Severino? The Orioles for DL Hall? I'm not sure how much the Oviedo's and Dunshee's of this deadline would move the needle for General Manager Bizzim. If they're going to add, they need to strike big. The Marlins were one of FTD's most fun stories over the season's first three months. A horrific month of July has erased the hope that had formed in South Beach. The Marlins theoretically could still buy, as they are only 2.5 games out of the Wild Card picture, but now sitting under .500 I think it is more likely they re-tool for the future. If they add, though, the Marlins should focus on controlled upgrades. Bobby Miller, Sandi Charle, and Juan Lopez are all names that the Marlins should check in on.

The National League West

The second biggest lead in the National League comes out West where the Arizona Diamondbacks sit 8.5 games up on the San Diego Padres. The Padres, with a .547 win percentage, currently hold a 3 game lead over every other National League team in the race for the first Wild Card spot. The Diamondbacks don't need pitching, I'll tell you that. They are the Giants staff of the National League. I have one name that I would really like to see in Arizona and that is Matt Olson. As good as Arizona is at getting on base (first in the NL in both AVG and OBP), they severely lack power options (.419 SLG - 8th in NL). Enter Matt Olson. Like most others, they could upgrade from a few names in their pen, but all in all this is the second most complete team in the National League behind only Milwaukee. The Padres young talent has started to arrive. Escorche. Tuzzio. Capritata. Mena. Diaz. Jack Leiter and Omar Fernandez look like Cy Young candidates. The lineup has no glaring holes, though a Will Smith at catcher would further enhance it. The focus has to absolutely be on upgrading the bullpen. Joe Jimenez, Diego Castillo, Darwinzon Hernandez, Sandy Gaston, DeMarcus Evans, Connor Jones, Colton Hock, Sandi Charle, Juan Lopez. There are plenty of names for General Manager Jason to work through to ensure the Padres their first playoff appearance in FTD history and first appearance in general since 2006!