Top 10 Big Leaguer-for-Big Leaguer Trades of the 2020s
Big leaguer-for-big leaguer trades are always fun. Let's rank the most impactful ones from the last few seasons.
With the 2026 trade deadline quickly approaching, many teams will be looking to get creative to improve their rosters. That could include big leaguer-for-big leaguer trades. Those moves feel somewhat rare, but some of the biggest moves of the 2020s have involved major league players going both ways.
For a trade to qualify for this list, all players included need to have major league experience, unless the trade involves four or more players – then we’ll let it slide if one of them had yet to debut at the time of the deal.
So, let’s look at the top 10 big leaguer-for-big leaguer trades of the 2020s, ranked.
No. 10: Rays Get José Caballero, Mariners Get Luke Raley (Jan. 5, 2024)
This trade worked out well for both sides, despite the Rays flipping Caballero to the Yankees just a year and a half later.
Caballero was a below-average hitter in Tampa Bay, but was worth 3.0 fWAR in 225 games thanks to a 78-for-102 mark stealing bases and strong defense at six different positions. He then blossomed offensively after being traded to New York for current Chicago White Sox outfielder Everson Pereira.
Raley had a great 2023 in Tampa Bay (19 home runs, 129 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR), then continued after moving to Seattle. The left-handed-hitting Raley had a down 2025, but has clubbed 36 home runs to a .767 OPS over 2024 and 2026.
This trade has been a win-win, something that will be a bit uncommon on this list.
No. 9: Rangers Get Brandon Nimmo, Mets Get Marcus Semien (Nov. 24, 2025)
This is one of the most recent trades, so it’s tough to determine a winner or loser yet. But there’s definitely a clear front-runner.
The Mets wanted to get off Nimmo’s contract for a shorter one, while upgrading their infield defense in the process. What the NL East cellar dwellers actually got was an aging second baseman who has been worth -0.3 fWAR while posting a 72 wRC+ and -5 DRS in 80 games.
Nimmo had been a bit banged up over his final few years in New York, but has been steady for the Rangers. He’s put up a 112 wRC+ and 1.3 fWAR over a 90-game sample.
Texas appears to have made a wise move getting off the final three years and $72 million of Semien’s deal in exchange for the last five years and $97.25 million of Nimmo’s contract.
No. 8: Yankees Get Cody Bellinger, Cubs Get Cody Poteet (Dec. 17, 2024)
This trade is likely the most lopsided of the bunch. At worst, it’s in the top two. It’s important to remember Bellinger was seen as a salary dump at the time, with the Yankees taking a risk.
Boy, was that risk worth it.
Bellinger responded with a 29-homer, 4.9-fWAR 2025 season. His 125 wRC+ was above his career average, and he was rewarded with a five-year, $162.5 million contract this offseason. Bellinger is on pace to more or less repeat his 2025 in 2026, already hitting 11 home runs in 94 games with a 116 wRC+ and 2.6 fWAR.
Poteet makes this a big leaguer-for-big leaguer trade because of a couple of seasons in Miami that allowed him to exceed rookie eligibility and a handful of games for the Yankees in 2024. His contract was purchased by the Orioles before he ever appeared for the Cubs, and he allowed five runs in 2.2 innings in what might have been his last stint in MLB.
No. 7: Brewers Get Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton, & Shane Drohan, Red Sox Get Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler, & Compensatory Pick (Feb. 9, 2026)
This is the most current trade on the list and has the most volatility involved. The story of this deal will probably change half a dozen times before it’s fully written.
So far, Milwaukee has been the unequivocal winner thanks to Kyle Harrison. Harrison, a former top prospect for the Giants who was in the Rafael Devers trade, tossed just 12 innings for Boston. He’s turned things around with the Brewers, throwing 83.2 innings to a 3.01 ERA with 101 strikeouts to 20 walks. That includes an outing in Las Vegas with eight earned runs allowed in 2.1 innings.
Hamilton has stolen 18 bases and played above-average defense at third base in his return to the organization that drafted him. Drohan was a Rule 5 pick by the White Sox in 2023, but never debuted before his 70.0 innings with Milwaukee this season. He’s thrown to a 3.09 ERA.
Durbin was the big return for Boston, expected to fill their hole at third base. He responded by being one of the worst qualified hitters over the first two months of the 2026 season, sporting a 46 and 41 wRC+ in March/April and May, respectively. Durbin did have a 160 wRC+ in June, so he’s starting to make up for that slow start.
Monasterio has a -0.4 fWAR in 58 games, while Seigler has only played 22 games with Boston, though he hit quite well for Triple-A Worcester.
No. 6: Yankees Get Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, & Ben Rortvedt, Twins Get Gary Sánchez & Gio Urshela (March 13, 2022)
This trade was somewhat disastrous for both sides, but was significant because of what happened before the trade.
Donaldson was a former MVP who had been battling injuries over the few years leading up to the deal, but his 2021 season was a return to form. He clubbed 26 home runs, sported a 126 wRC+ and was worth 3.4 fWAR.
Donaldson went on a downturn as a Yankee, with a 96 wRC+ in 132 games in 2022 and 74 wRC+ in 34 outings in 2023, marking the end of a remarkable career. Kiner-Falefa was a below-average hitter but a solid defender in New York, and Rortvedt didn’t play in pinstripes.
Sánchez was one of the Baby Yankees and represented part of the future of the franchise after an electric rookie year in 2016. He hit 138 home runs and had an .804 OPS with 11.1 fWAR in seven seasons as a Yankee, but was forced out due to some frustrating defense and a few underwhelming offensive seasons in a row.
Sánchez was still worth 1.4 fWAR as a Twin, but he wasn’t the best player heading back to Minnesota in the deal. Urshela posted one of his three seasons with a wRC+ above 100 (118) as a Twin and was worth 2.6 fWAR in 144 games.
The Twins won the trade if a winner has to be named, but even they only got one season each as their return for a former MVP coming off a good season.
No. 5: Blue Jays Get Robbie Ray, Diamondbacks Get Travis Bergen (Aug. 31, 2020) / Giants Get Robbie Ray, Mariners Get Mitch Haniger, Anthony DeSclafani, & Cash (Jan. 5, 2024)
Ray was a part of two of these trades, so why not include both?
The first deal put Ray in the spot where he won a Cy Young, with the return being a reliever who threw 6.2 innings as a Diamondback before being purchased back by the Blue Jays.
Ray had a 4.11 ERA in 793 innings in Arizona, then rocked a 2.84 ERA with an MLB-best 248 strikeouts in 193.1 innings for Toronto in 2021.
He parlayed that into a five-year, $115 million contract with Seattle that will run out after 2026.
Ray regressed to a 3.71 ERA in 2022, then got hurt after one start in 2023. He was flipped for Haniger and DeSclafani, both of whom struggled in San Francisco. Haniger had a 72 wRC+ and -0.7 fWAR as a Giant, and DeSclafani had a 5.16 ERA in his final two seasons in the Bay.
Haniger had one more underwhelming season in Seattle before his career ended, and DeSclafani didn’t play in 2024 and never appeared as a Mariner.
Ray has bounced back with a 3.66 ERA in 319.2 innings as a Giant and is a candidate to be traded again at this deadline. Maybe, just maybe, he can make this list for a third time.
No. 4: Athletics Get Starling Marte, Marlins Get Jesús Luzardo (July 28, 2021)
Back to the one-for-one swaps, and this one worked out well for each side.
The Athletics were hunting for a playoff spot before blowing up their core, and Marte did all he could. He went 25-for-27 stealing bases and had a 131 wRC+ and 2.0 fWAR in 56 games in Oakland. It didn’t end up being enough, but Oakland coming up short wasn’t Marte’s fault.
Luzardo was a former top prospect struggling in his early MLB career. He had a 4.79 ERA in 109 innings as an Athletic. The Marlins unlocked him, with a 3.32 ERA in 10 starts in 2022 and a 3.58 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 178.2 innings in 2023. He got hurt again in 2024 and was traded to the Phillies with his value lower than expected. He has been more than solid in Philadelphia, earning his first All-Star selection this summer.
Both teams got what they wanted out of this deal, even if the end results for both were not quite what they had envisioned.
No. 3: Cubs Get Kyle Tucker, Astros Get Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wesneski, & Cam Smith (Dec. 13, 2024)
The Tucker trade represented one of the first times in nearly a decade the Astros were shipping off a star before his free agency. They got back a pair of big leaguers, one with pedigree, and another player who hasn’t played a single game in Houston’s minor league system.
Tucker hit 125 home runs, stole 94 bases, had a .870 OPS and was worth 20.9 fWAR over five-plus seasons as an Astro. His one year in Chicago before signing a mega-deal with the Dodgers was solid but marred by a hand injury that caused a mid-summer malaise. The four-time All-Star still finished with 22 homers, 25 steals, a 136 wRC+ and 4.5 fWAR for the Cubs, who lost in five games to Milwaukee in the NLDS.
Paredes was a poor fit with the Cubs due to his batted ball profile, as evidenced by his 85 wRC+ with Chicago. Daikin Park is a much better fit, and he’s hit 32 home runs with a .789 OPS since the trade to Houston.
Wesneski returned to his hometown team and was fine in six starts before going down with a UCL injury that required Tommy John surgery. Smith, the first prospect to appear on this list, has an 89 wRC+ in 230 games as an Astro.
This trade feels like a clear Cubs win given the Astros missed the 2025 postseason, even if Tucker immediately bolted for a record-setting contract in Los Angeles.
No. 2: Brewers Get Willy Adames & Trevor Richards, Rays get Drew Rasmussen & J.P. Feyereisen (May 21, 2021)
An oft-forgotten trade that sent legitimate talent both ways, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay both got what they wanted out of this deal.
Adames was floundering in Tampa to start 2021. He had said he had trouble seeing in Tropicana Field due to the new lighting, and a change of scenery was needed. Adames immediately became a star for Milwaukee, posting 15.9 fWAR over nearly four seasons as a Brewer. The shortstop clubbed 107 home runs and finished 10th in MVP voting in 2024 despite never making an All-Star Game.
Rasmussen couldn’t quite find it in Milwaukee, but has exclusively posted sub-3.00 ERAs in Tampa. He struggled staying healthy for a bit, but has a 2.83 ERA with 480 strikeouts in 527.2 innings as a Ray. The right-hander has turned into a legitimate ace for a Rays team that is in the hunt for an American League pennant in 2026.
Richards threw well for Milwaukee and was flipped for Rowdy Tellez in July. Feyereisen threw to a 1.48 ERA in 61 innings in Tampa Bay, but a rotator cuff and labrum injury in mid-2022 derailed his career.
This trade is as dead even as it gets, with the Brewers getting a cornerstone shortstop for nearly four years and the Rays getting an ace who will be a free agent after the 2027 season.
No. 1: Yankees Get Juan Soto & Trent Grisham, Padres Get Michael King, Kyle Higashioka, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez, & Drew Thorpe (Dec. 7, 2023)
Somehow, this deal qualifies and is the obvious top choice. Soto was dealt for the second time in 17 months, with one year of team control left.
Soto to the Yankees was always going to happen in the 2023 offseason; it was just a matter of how. At the time, the big holdup was whether the Yankees would include King in the deal. They did, and it pushed the deal over the edge for this list.
Soto went crazy as a Yankee, recording an 8.3 fWAR season with 41 home runs, 109 RBIs, and a 181 wRC+. He was even a Gold Glove finalist. He hit a memorable home run against the Guardians and had a 1.101 OPS in the 2024 postseason. It was a truly magical season in the Bronx with him and Aaron Judge hitting back-to-back.
Grisham was mostly a non-factor in 2024 before posting 3.2 fWAR with 34 home runs in 2025. Sure, his usually-sterling defense in center field took a nosedive (-11 DRS in 2025), but the offensive production made up for it. Grisham has recovered from a miserable start to 2026, and his ability to keep Judge in right field has been crucial for the Yankees.
King has been an underrated starter in San Diego, but some health problems in 2025 limited his market in the offseason. He has a 3.19 ERA in 355.1 innings as a Padre, and he could be on his way to opting out of the three-year, $75 million deal he signed before the 2026 season.
Higashioka had the best offensive season of his career in 2024, his only year in San Diego. He launched 17 home runs and had a 104 wRC+ in a 1.6-fWAR season.
Vásquez and Brito were basically the same pitcher at the time of the deal, but Vásquez is providing more value now, and Brito provided some in 2024. Vásquez had a 2.84 ERA in 37.2 innings as a Yankee before the deal, then struggled in San Diego in 2024. He has a 4.18 ERA in 217.2 innings over the last two seasons, providing the Padres’ rotation with a stable arm.
Brito had a 4.12 ERA in 2024, then underwent an internal brace procedure and flexor tendon surgery in April 2025. He hasn’t thrown in the bigs since.
Thorpe never threw a game for any San Diego affiliate, being flipped as the headlining piece for Dylan Cease just 98 days later. His career has been derailed by injuries since 2024, while Cease had a 3.98 ERA for the Padres over two years.
The Yankees got everything they could’ve wanted out of this trade aside from a win in the World Series and an extension with Soto, but they knew they were trading for a rental. And the Padres getting a few reliable starters wouldn’t be bad under normal circumstances for a rental, but it was Juan Soto they traded.
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