Three Prospects Who Are Blocked as Deadline Day Approaches

As the deadline quickly approaches, many teams across the sport are closing in on playoff opportunities and are looking for one final piece to push them over the edge. In these hunts, the players that end up being affected most are the prospects, as teams need to trade future capital in trying to bolster their rosters however they can to win now.

For many of these prospects who will be moved at the end of the month, it also happens to be the case that if they stay with their current teams, there’s nearly no path to big league playing time. Given this, these players slowly become even more expendable than they already were.

In a recent episode of The Call Up, our Aram Leighton and Jack McMullen went over some of these players, breaking down their situations and why they’re blocked. This story will highlight arguably the three most interesting and clearest cases of this, with these names standing above the rest.

Let’s take a closer look and examine some of these prospects and the challenging futures they face.

Harry Ford, C, Seattle Mariners

If there’s been one key storyline this season on the offensive side of the sport, it’s been the incredible breakout of Mariners’ catcher Cal Raleigh. While this breakout has obviously been a very positive thing for the club, it’s led to a challenging future outlook for one of their former first-rounders, catcher Harry Ford.

Since he was selected by the Mariners back with the 12th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, the team has held Ford in high regard. The baseball world has followed this as well, as Ford was often ranked highly on many prospect lists. Currently ranked as our 86th-best prospect, Ford has skyrocketed through the Mariners’ farm system.

Ford has flat-out raked this season in his first taste of Triple-A. In 72 games, Ford has slashed .290/.407/.437 with nine homers and a 121 wRC+, posting some really solid numbers overall. He’s been playing some of the best baseball of his career, improving both his walk and strikeout rate from last season, too.

While Ford has yet to make his debut just yet, he was named to the Taxi Squad earlier this season, showing the club’s willingness to squeeze him in during times when it’s absolutely necessary. Outside of this, his path to the big leagues has been complicated since Raleigh’s breakout.

Raleigh has played nearly all of the Mariners’ games this season, complicating this situation even more. It’s not like they could squeeze Ford into some off-day action, as Raleigh rarely sits to begin with. His bat is simply too good to keep out of the lineup.

This is where the trade deadline comes in: The Mariners are looking to make some serious upgrades, and they won’t be cheap. If the club decides to take the all-in approach as they currently sit just six games out of first place, Ford is an expendable trade piece.

The Mariners have shown interest in some big sluggers, such as Eugenio Suarez, while also looking to make some significant pitching upgrades. Both will cost them heavily, and Ford is the perfect prospect to utilize in a deal like this.

Owen Caissie, OF, Chicago Cubs

Over the course of the last few weeks, it’s been difficult to find a hotter minor league name than Cubs’ outfielder Owen Caissie. He’s been playing some of the best baseball of his career in Triple-A, leading to many fans speculating that either a promotion or trade is on the horizon.

Since the Cubs acquired Caissie in the Yu Darvish trade with the San Diego Padres back in December of 2020, he’s slowly blossomed into a superstar prospect. Currently just 22 years old, Caissie is raking in his second season in Triple-A.

In 76 games so far this season, Caissie has slashed .269/.374/.556 with 19 homers and a 135 wRC+, all of which are some of the best baseball he’s played in his entire career. This even included a stretch of 20 games where Caissie slugged nine homers!

In just this short span, Caissie’s 19 homers have already tied the 19 he hit last season at the Triple-A level. The only thing that’s different? Caissie has done this in 51 fewer games, which really shows how much better he’s playing this season.

The Cubs head into this year’s deadline in a peculiar position. They’re battling the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers for first place with an extremely crowded outfield, both of which are reasons we could see Caissie traded by the end of the month.

Their outfield currently consists of Kyle Tucker, Ian Happ, and Pete Crow-Armstrong, arguably the best trio of outfielders in the sport. For Caissie, finding his way into this group will be quite difficult regardless of how well he plays in Triple-A.

The Cubs have had ties to some huge names in this deadline cycle as well, including Pirates’ starter Mitch Keller and Guardians’ closer Emmanuel Clase, among others. If they were going to attempt one of these deals, it’s reasonable to assume the package could begin with Caissie.

There is a small possibility the Cubs hold on to Caissie, as there are some questions surrounding Kyle Tucker and his future with the team, given his upcoming free agency at the end of this season. However, the writing is still on the wall that Caissie could be dealt very soon.

Jhostynxon Garcia, OF, Boston Red Sox

Similar to the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Red Sox find themselves in quite an interesting position at this year’s deadline. The Red Sox are just six games out of first place, as they find themselves in a very tight race in the American League East.

In the midst of this tight race, the Red Sox have had a star blossom in their minor leagues, outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia. Since making his way to Triple-A, Garcia has continued to hit very well, beginning to force the Red Sox to make a decision as to what to do with him.

In 43 Triple-A games, Garcia has slashed .289/.368/.512 with nine homers and a 129 wRC+, showing the strength of his game in every trip to the plate. Due to this, the Red Sox are put in a tough position regarding his services.

The Red Sox have already been one of the key players in the trade market, as they dealt franchise cornerstone Rafael Devers to the Giants earlier this season. Since then, they’ve shown the willingness to do this with Jarren Duran, as they’ve had conversations surrounding him recently.

Even if the Red Sox do decide to trade Duran at this year’s deadline, their outfield situation is still incredibly crowded. Wilyer Abreu, Roman Antony, and Cedanne Rafaela would become the new starting outfielders, with each of these players performing very well so far this season.

With the Red Sox desperately needing some help on the pitching side of things, Garcia could be an attractive name to teams with the pitching they’re looking for. Whether this will come in the form of Sandy Alcantara, Mitch Keller, Dylan Cease, or any other available arm, this point stands true.

Due to the youth of the Red Sox’s outfield, even without Duran, there’s also no path for Garcia to start big league games anytime soon. Given this alongside their desperate need for pitching, a trade that includes Garcia feels like it could be coming any day now.