SPECULATOR: Trade deadline speculation roundtable, part I

Each year around this time, the Speculator column takes a trip through the trade rumors, to get the juices flowing about what might happen in the trade market over the next three weeks. Since this year Speculator has become rotated among three writers, we decided to engage all three of us—Ray Murphy, Brent Hershey and Jock Thompson—in a little trade speculation talk in a roundtable format. We'll revisit the exercise the week of the deadline.

RAY: The trend in recent years has been to see at least one significant trade well before the actual deadline. Last year, for instance, Samardzija went to the A's on July 5th. It seems like we are overdue for the first shoe to drop. Who do you think is most likely to strike first here?

JOCK: Yeah,...

Almost!

You’re just a few clicks away from accessing this feature and hundreds more throughout the year that have a singular goal in mind: Winning your league. Subscribe to BaseballHQ.com here!

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

More From Speculator

A smattering of "best hits" from our Playing Time Tomorrow series, as well as some schedule-based speculations the rest of the way.
Aug 26 2026 3:07am
After a horrific start, Jacob Lopez has turned things around this summer. We dive into how, along with several other risers/fallers this summer.
Aug 19 2026 3:06am
CJ Abrams has always had the speed, and now both his frequency and quality of contact have taken steps forward.
Aug 5 2026 3:07am
We continue the rookie class check-in outside the Top 25 in this year's HQ100.
Jul 29 2026 3:09am
We check in on the Top 25 preseason prospects who have made their MLB debut so far, and speculate on their outlooks moving forward.
Jul 22 2026 3:06am

Tools