2022 MLB trade deadline: Available pitchers and teams that need them

All of the greatest stories follow the three act structure. Act one sets up the inciting incident, leading to the confrontation in Act two, and finally unravelling and resolving all storylines in Act three. With Act One of the baseball season over, we now have our inciting incidents. The Dodgers, Yankees, and Mets are leading their divisions, as expected, but there are a few surprises in the tale, with the Red Sox faltering and the Angels in a terrible spot despite having two of the hottest players in baseball on their roster.

As Act Two begins there is a call to adventure; think of Star Wars. But instead of Obi Wan asking Luke to learn the ways of the Force, we have bullpens around the league asking for another arm to join their ranks. Some are looking for closers, some starters, but all MLB teams are on the hunt for that perfect fit for their rotation.

2022 has several clear leaders in the hunt for the perfect starter, and every team wants one or both of them. Chief among these names is Luis Castillo. The Cincinnati Reds pitcher is still under team control for another season, but with the year that he is having, they are likely to capitalize on their asset and sell him for big money. With a fastball in the high nineties plus a hard slider, he has a 3.43 ERA so far in 46 innings pitched. Everyone is lined up to take him and with the Dodgers and Braves sporting the best bullpens, and the most voracious ones, in the league, he will almost certainly be on the move in a few days.

Not far behind him is the Oakland Athletics’ Frankie Montas. Another fastball, sinker, slider pitcher who tops out in the high nineties, Montas has posted a 3.28 ERA so far on 81.2 innings pitched, making him if anything slightly more durable than Castillo. Only the A’s high price tag has kept him in Oakland so far, but with great need comes great risk, and someone will surely meet their demands for him.

The Rangers, who often feel like perpetual organ donors for the Yankees and Red Sox, have another peach of an arm on offer in Martín Pérez. Perhaps the best southpaw on the trading block, he has a 2.10 ERA on 81.1 innings pitched, notching up 65 Ks for only 18 walks. With a low-nineties fastball and a cutter at close to the same velocity, he is at the top of his value and Texas are the kind of team to make hay while the sun shines.

The Reds have another arm that will almost certainly be poached by teams still in contention and that is Tyler Mahle. He has served up a 4.48 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, although being plagued by injury this year will have lowered his asking price. Last season he was as solid a starter as any in the league, and teams looking longer term like Boston, Toronto, or Milwaukee will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of adding him to the rotation.

One player who is likely not available is nonetheless worth looking at, because he straddles that category of a highly-rated pitcher who could be ripe for plucking, and a team that is in great need of pitching. Shohei Ohtani is having an All-Star quality year from the mound, and even though he got the nod for the All-Star game at designated hitter, despite Yordan Álvarez being the demonstrably superior designated hitter in every way, Ohtani deserved to be in that game, but as a pitcher. His numbers bear that out.

The awkwardness is three-fold when discussing Ohtani, because if you are the Angels, why on earth would you sell the goose that laid the golden egg? But just over a week ago, when asked the question, the team said that they had no intention of trading Shohei, but appeared to leave the tiniest of cracks in the door when they said that the price would have to be enormous.

Ohtani himself has not mentioned a desire to be traded, but when he hits free agency after 2023, the story could change. Why would he want to stay on a team that is a perpetual also-ran? Everyone in baseball would want him, and be willing to pay almost any price to get him, although the best fit would seem to be the Atlanta Braves who could use him either in their injury-depleted outfield or as a member of one of the best bullpens in baseball. Or both.

The biggest rub is that the Angels themselves are in desperate need of depth in their pitching rotation. They are a prime landing spot for any of the top five pitchers on offer and will be loath to let Ohtani get away from them if they can help it.

Other teams who are in dire need of pitchers are the Mets, who are looking to prop up their impressive stable that includes Max Scherzer and the soon-to-return-to-the-rotation Jacob deGrom, the Yankees, who are perpetually in need of middle relievers and closers especially, and the Toronto Blue Jays, who have a great bullpen yet one of the worst starting rotations in baseball.

The Twins have spent big money on their infield but their starting rotation is in need, with a staff seemingly incapable of going deeper than three innings into a game. A large part of this is down to injuries depleting the arms that are available, but they will be on the hunt in the coming days as well. After all, they want to make sure that they can move their season into Act Three in October.