Most Shocking Players Who Were Not Traded at the Deadline

What a whirlwind the 2025 MLB trade deadline was. It took a couple of days to get the ball rolling, but Thursday came with a whole lot of chaos as some monster names across the league got moved in the finals hours before the deadline.

However, even with the incredible number of deals that transpired, there were a few players who were surprisingly not moved. That list of names ranges from expiring assets on selling teams to marquee players who dominated the rumor mill this week.

So, with the dust settled from Thursday’s madness, let’s dive into the most shocking players who were not traded at this year’s MLB trade deadline.

Any Member of the Pittsburgh Pirates with Value

The Pittsburgh Pirates were obvious sellers in a favorable market for teams looking to cash in on their assets, yet they walked away from the trade deadline retaining several players who were rumored to be on the move — even those who are on expiring contracts.

Andrew Heaney, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Tommy Pham (who owns a 1.043 OPS and 189 wRC+ in July) were all rumored to have interest leading up to the trade deadline and are all set to hit free agency at the end of the season.

As most are aware, those typically make for the easiest trade chips to move. Yet, the Pirates ended up keeping all three.

They wouldn’t have brought in earth-shattering packages, but in a market that lacked available middle infielders and where starting pitching was in high demand, they are players who should have netted the Pirates at least something of worth.

Relatedly, many thought Mitch Keller, who is under contract through the 2028 season, could get moved with the astronomical price that starting pitching was going for. Instead, Keller and his 3.69 ERA remains in Pittsburgh. Perhaps he’s an arm they could look to trade in the offseason or even next summer.

Moreover, hurler Dennis Santana owns a dazzling 1.36 ERA on the season, the fourth-best mark in all of MLB among qualified relievers, and will enter his final year of arbitration next season. Sellers should always be looking to cash in on any reliever who might be drawing trade interest, and there was certainly a market for Santana considering how good he has been this season.

Especially considering that the ball club shipped closer David Bednar to the New York Yankees on Thursday, not trading a high-performing, soon-to-be-expiring asset in Santana before the deadline is rather puzzling for an organization that should be looking to stockpile all the assets they can for the future.

OF Luis Robert Jr.

For years, Luis Robert Jr. has been involved in the trade deadline rumor mill, and the Chicago White Sox once again elected to retain him this season.

Robert, who is admittedly having another down season with a wRC+ of just 81, was still drawing trade interest from contenders despite his prolonged stretch of poor performance.

The 27-year-old was starting to put things together leading up to the deadline, hitting .370 with a 1.040 OPS in his last 13 games, and some thought that might be just enough for a contender to take a shot on the once-prized center fielder.

However, the offers the White Sox were receiving were clearly not what Chris Getz and Co. were looking for.

Robert has two club options for $20 million apiece in 2026 and 2027 before hitting free agency in 2028, so there was no real rush in selling him at his lowest value. The White Sox will hope Robert can bounce back in the second half to recoup some of his value, and, in all likelihood, we will go through this charade once again this offseason or even at next year’s trade deadline.

RHP Sandy Alcantara and RHP Edward Cabrera

There’s some magic in Miami, and the Fighting Fish have decided to keep their valuable hurlers and give this thing a go.

Most people are familiar with the Sandy Alcantara dillema by now. The unanimous 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner made his return from Tommy John surgery this season, but the results have been far from what fans have been accustomed to seeing.

Sandy is sporting the highest ERA in MLB among qualified arms at a 6.36. However, he seems to be trending in the right direction, tossing back-to-back scoreless outings in his last two starts. Alcantara is still under contract through the 2027 season, so there was no urgency in shipping him away at his lowest possible value.

Instead, Miami will hope their talented arm can continue to shake off the rust and get back to his ace form in the second half of the season.

Perhaps the more surprising arm sticking around is Edward Cabrera, who was rumored to have a lot of interest leading up to the deadline. Cabrera, an electrifying arm with a powerful arsenal, is in the midst of one of his most complete seasons yet, throwing to a 3.35 ERA with a career-best 3.16 BB/9 while striking out over nine hitters per nine.

Cabrera is an arm who has struggled with both injuries and consistency on the mound due to some extreme command issues at times, so many thought he was a hurler the Marlins were going to cash in on. With him still in arbitration through 2028, his team control and performance this season could have brought in a significant prospect package. Instead, he will continue to have a prominent role in the Marlins’ rotation in 2025.

RHP Dylan Cease

Dylan Cease was a potential trade target who was getting plenty of traction on Thursday. It was even rumored late in the afternoon that the Astros were in very heavy pursuit of the 29-year-old hurler, but a deal obviously never came to fruition.

A free agent at the end of the season, Cease was an arm many thought the San Diego Padres would cash in on, especially following the addition of starter JP Sears (and, of course, Mason Miller) from the Athletics. Instead, they will ride this season out and make another push for a National League pennant with a rotation that has some serious potential when at full strength.

It doesn’t help that Cease is in the midst of one of his worst seasons since his rookie year with the White Sox, throwing to a 4.79 ERA. However, his peripherals, while not incredible, are a bit more encouraging, and he’s striking out a near-career-high 11.64 hitters per nine.

There’s no denying his talent, which is why San Diego elected to hold onto him with the hopes that he goes on a heater in the second half. The Padres are in win-now mode, and Cease will be a big part of that come October if the Padres can hold onto their playoff position.

RHP Zac Gallen

The Arizona Diamondbacks had plenty of desirable assets at this year’s trade deadline, and they decided to cash in on many of them. Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suárez, Merrill Kelly, and even Shelby Miller were all players who netted the D-Backs a return, but the one arm they chose to keep was Zac Gallen.

Gallen, the longtime ace of this staff, is in the midst of a dreadful season. He’s second behind the aforementioned Alcantara for the highest ERA in the sport at a 5.60, and he too his set to hit free agency come season’s end.

It was somewhat odd to see Arizona trade away many of their valuable assets but elect to retain Gallen. Even in his down season, he’s had starts this year where he looked like his old self, and his impressive track record alone was still drawing interest from contenders.

However, Gallen is eligible for the qualifying offer at the end of the season, which the Diamondbacks will likely look to extend to him. If he were to take it, Arizona retains an important arm in a year where they are still looking to compete. If he turns it down and signs with another team, they would receive compensation in the form of a draft pick.

Perhaps Arizona wasn’t getting the interest or packages they deemed worthy and thought that this was the better path forward.

OF Steven Kwan

Steven Kwan gained tons of steam in the hours leading up to the deadline as a marquee name who could be moved. In the end, despite the number of teams rumored to be in on Kwan, he remains a key member of the Cleveland Guardians.

Kwan has been at the heart of this Guardians’ lineup for a couple of years now. The three-time Gold Glove winner earned his second straight All-Star nod of his career this season and is coming off a career year in 2024 in which he posted 4.2 fWAR to go with a 131 wRC+.

It would have been a little surprising to see Kwan moved given how valuable he is to Cleveland. He’s only entering his second year of arbitration next year and is under team control through 2027 as well.

Still, after the club traded away Paul Sewald to the Detroit Tigers and Shane Bieber to the Toronto Blue Jays, and considering the market appeared to be very hot for the 27-year-old outfielder, it’s almost more surprising to see him stay put rather than getting moved at the deadline.

DH Marcell Ozuna

Marcell Ozuna is in the midst of a down year at the plate, and he is dealing with a concerning hip injury that has supposedly been impacting his performance at the plate this season. Things have been even worse recently for him, which could have scared teams away from acquiring his services.

In the month of July, the Atlanta Braves designated hitter is batting just .154 with a .694 OPS. On the year as a whole, he’s posting the lowest wRC+ since 2022 (117) and hasn’t been the same hitter he’s been across his previous two seasons.

On the other hand, though, a 117 wRC+ is still respectable, and he still has 15 homers on the season. His need to be in the DH spot certainly bogs down his trade value, but with the Braves struggling the way that they are, and with Ozuna set to hit free agency at the end of the season, it felt as if a team was going to take a shot on him to provide a spark on offense.

Don’t forget that this is a bat who hit 79 homers to go with a 149 wRC+ between 2023 and 2024, the sixth and ninth-best marks among qualified MLB hitters over that stretch, and he came into the year as one of the top designated hitters in the game.

Evidently a trade never came to fruition, and Ozuna will remain a member of the Braves through the end of the 2025 season.

RHP Joe Ryan

A name who gained a tremendous amount of buzz in recent days was Minnesota Twins ace Joe Ryan.

Part of that stemmed from the enormous package that he could have netted the Twins. Ryan is having the best year of his career to this point, pitching to a 2.82 ERA this season, which is the seventh-best mark in the AL (min. 120 IP).

Likewise, he’s fourth in all of Major League Baseball in strikeout-minus-walk rate (23.8%), and he’s under team control through 2027, only adding to his trade value.

Given the complete fire sale that the Twins went through at this year’s trade deadline, it felt as if Ryan made so much sense to move since he would have netted Minnesota the highest return of all their trade chips.

It was even reported in the final minutes leading up to the deadline that the Boston Red Sox were heavily pursuing Ryan, but it was later reported by Red Sox insider Chris Cotillo that the two sides weren’t that close to an agreement.

To trade an arm like Ryan, the Twins needed to get an absolute haul in return, and perhaps the asking price was a tad too rich for teams to pull the trigger on a trade. Similar to Kwan, with all the momentum building surrounding his trade value and rumors in the final hours, and given how heavy the Twins leaned into being sellers, it’s pretty surprising to still see Ryan on Minnesota’s roster.