Top offseason trade targets for the Starting Pitchers

The free agent market is relatively thin at shortstop and in the outfield — two areas where the Braves should be looking to upgrade this offseason. The market for starting pitchers, however, is robust. There are plenty to choose from across a wide range of price tags, plus a lot of really intriguing options that should be on the move this winter via trade.

This begins a series of trade targets for the Atlanta Braves by position of need, starting with the rotation — which should be where Alex Anthopoulos focuses most this offseason.

Mariners Starting Pitchers

It was floated at the trade deadline that the Mariners could be open to moving starting pitching in exchange for more offense. That didn’t come to fruition, but those talks should pick up even more aggressively this offseason after a disappointing finish to the 2026 campaign.

I don’t imagine Seattle will have any interest in moving Kade Anderson, one of the brightest young pitchers in the game, but everyone else should be on the table: George Kirby, Emerson Hancock, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo.

Any one of them would be a massive upgrade to the Braves’ rotation, but the trade fit between the two sides is wonky. I don’t see Atlanta being all that interested in dealing players off its major-league roster, unless Seattle has interest in the likes of Sean Murphy, Ozzie Albies, or Austin Riley. Maybe there’s something that could work, but trades between two teams both trying to compete are always tougher to pull off.

Jacob deGrom

By now, we all know what happened between the Braves and Rangers at the trade deadline. The two sides had a deal in place, but deGrom invoked his no-trade clause to stay in Texas, saying he signed his contract for a reason and wants to bring a championship to the Rangers.

It’s very possible deGrom’s stance hasn’t changed, but it also wouldn’t be surprising if he simply wanted to wait until the offseason to see what else is out there. deGrom will be 39 next season, is owed $37 million in 2027, and posted a 4.20 ERA. However, his 3.11 FIP and 11.1 strikeouts per nine suggest he still has plenty left in the tank. I’d imagine the Braves give it another shot this offseason to see if he’s had a change of heart.

MacKenzie Gore

Gore was a really exciting trade prospect a year ago and was eventually moved to the Rangers. But the breakout Texas was hoping for never followed; he finished the 2026 campaign with a career-worst 4.58 ERA over 34 starts.

If the Rangers end up committing to a rebuild, Gore could be on the way out as well, given he’s entering the final year of his contract. At around $8-10 million (arbitration estimate), he doesn’t have to be a frontline starter to live up to that price, and he still comes with enough tantalizing upside to fetch Texas a couple of quality prospects. It would be fun to see what he could do working alongside Braves pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, who proved to be an elite addition to Walt Weiss’ staff in year one.

Reid Detmers

Detmers was one of the hottest names floated at this year’s trade deadline, but the Angels ultimately decided not to rush into anything. That should change this offseason, with Los Angeles coming to terms with a lengthy rebuild.

He’ll be 27 next season, comes with multiple years of team control, features elite stuff, and is coming off the best season of his career — a 3.36 ERA over 32 starts. The market will be full of suitors if the Angels are finally ready to move him.

Drew Rasmussen

When healthy, Rasmussen is one of the more consistently dominant pitchers in baseball, and he’s actually stayed healthy over the last two seasons, posting a 2.71 ERA over 61 starts. The Rays would ideally like to hold onto him, but we’ve seen this story a million times before.

He has a $20 million club option for next year, which Tampa Bay will certainly pick up. But he’ll be 31 next season, and the odds of the Rays handing a pitcher that age — with a significant injury history — a massive long-term deal feel slim. That would make Rasmussen the single best pitcher who could get traded this offseason.