Since winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 2022, Paul Goldschmidt struggled to find the same groove at the plate, his numbers declining in each of the past two seasons with the Cardinals.
Some simply said the seven-time All-Star was succumbing to Father Time, making it unlikely that we would ever see the same ferocious hitter who tortured big-league pitchers for the previous decade. Goldschmidt’s move to New York seems to have reinvigorated him: He entered the weekend with a .323/.380/.471 slash line and a 141 OPS+, doing his part for the first-place Yankees in 2025.
The lesson? Sometimes a change of scenery is all it takes to help a player turn things around. There are plenty of players having their own difficulties this season – or in some cases, for the past two or three years – who could benefit from a move to a new organization.
With the Trade Deadline only eight weeks away, let’s take a look at eight players (listed alphabetically) who may fall into that category.
All stats through Thursday.
Reid Detmers, LHP, Angels
After losing the No. 5 starter competition this spring, Detmers was moved to the bullpen, where he struggled badly, allowing runs in seven of his first 12 appearances (10.05 ERA). He’s pitched better since May 9, posting a 0.82 ERA in 10 outings, even joining Nolan Ryan and Mike Witt as the only Angels in history to record both a no-hitter and a save for the club.
The Angels are under .500 and face an uphill battle in a crowded AL postseason picture, and with Detmers headed for his second of four arbitration years this winter, another team could still value him as a potential starter. He posted a 3.77 ERA in 25 starts in 2022 – his age-22 season – including that no-hitter, following that up with a 4.48 ERA in 28 starts in 2023. He struggled badly last year, but he turns 26 next month. Detmers had enough success early in his career for teams to consider taking a chance on him as a long-term starter.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 1B/DH, Reds
Encarnacion-Strand hasn’t been able to find the same offensive groove he had as a rookie in 2023, when he slashed .270/.328/.477 with 13 homers, 37 RBIs and a 112 OPS+ in 63 games. In 44 games since the start of 2024, he’s slashed .179/.208/.295 with four home runs, 21 RBIs and a 35 OPS+, though he crushed the ball during his rehab assignment at Triple-A, giving the Reds hope that his bat can help now that he’s back from the injured list (he homered in Friday's suspended game) -- assuming he can stay healthy, which has been a problem during his brief career.
But where will he play? CES is seemingly blocked at first base by Spencer Steer, while Steer, Gavin Lux, Austin Hays and Tyler Stephenson have been splitting up DH duties. If CES shows he can be a consistent offensive weapon, Cincinnati might look to him in a first base/DH platoon with Steer, but it’s just as likely that the Reds could move him to a team with a need at one of those spots, giving him a fresh start somewhere else.
Jarred Kelenic, OF, Braves
It wasn’t all that long ago that Kelenic was one of the top prospects in baseball, debuting on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list at No. 56 in 2019, then moving up in 2020 (No. 11) and 2021 (No. 4) before making his debut in May 2021. Kelenic’s 2023 season looked to be a big step forward for the former first-round pick: He hit 11 home runs with 49 RBIs, a .746 OPS and 2.1 bWAR in 105 games for Seattle.
Atlanta acquired him in a trade after that season, but things have not gone well for him with the Braves. The 25-year-old has a .222/.279/.381 slash line with 17 homers and 47 RBIs in 154 games since the start of 2024, posting -0.1 bWAR during that stretch. This season, the Braves brought in Alex Verdugo and Eddie Rosario to try settling their outfield situation during Ronald Acuña Jr.’s absence and Jurickson Profar’s suspension; now that Acuña is back, there appears to be no path for Kelenic – who was optioned to Triple-A in late April – to assume a meaningful role with Atlanta.
Kelenic hit .167 with two home runs, two RBIs and a .531 OPS in 23 games prior to his demotion, continuing his struggles with the Braves. For his career, Kelenic has a .695 OPS against right-handed pitching and a .547 OPS against lefties, proving himself to be a platoon candidate at best, but a club looking for such a player could roll the dice that a fresh start could be beneficial for him.
Marco Luciano, INF/OF, Giants
After signing with the Giants as a 16-year-old in July 2018, Luciano ranked among the team’s top three prospects in each year from 2019-24, topping the list in both 2021 and 2022. He’s seen limited action in each of the past two seasons, but his defensive issues at shortstop prompted San Francisco to move him to left field, where he’s been playing at Triple-A this season. He recently made his first start at first base as the Giants try to diversify his skill set in the field.
Luciano’s numbers this season have been solid if not spectacular; he has nine homers and 31 RBIs in 55 games, slashing .205/.324/.376. It remains to be seen whether he has a future role with the Giants, who have yet to call him up this season despite the club’s offensive struggles. Still only 23 years old, Luciano could be a target for a team that believes in him and is ready to give him a shot in the Majors.
Christopher Morel, INF/OF, Rays
Morel was a steady presence on the Cubs’ Top 30 prospect list between 2019-22, peaking at the No. 8 spot in 2021. He debuted with Chicago in 2022, hitting 16 home runs with 47 RBIs, a .741 OPS and a 104 OPS+ in 113 games as a super-utility type who played five different positions. Morel followed that up with a solid sophomore effort, hitting 26 homers with 70 RBIs, an .821 OPS and a 122 OPS+ in 107 games. His defense has always been a bit of a question mark, with the Rays limiting him to the outfield corners this year after a rough year at second and third, but they hoped his offense would make up for it.
Morel was the headliner in a three-player package that sent Isaac Paredes to Chicago last July, but the 25-year-old hasn’t experienced the same success with the Rays that he did with the Cubs. In his first 96 games with Tampa Bay, Morel had six homers, 20 RBIs, a .578 OPS and a 66 OPS+, posting -1.1 bWAR at second base and left field. Recently, his playing time has been significantly diminished, relegating him to occasional starts against left-handed pitchers, and he could be a DFA candidate as other Rays hitters (including Ha-Seong Kim, Jonny DeLuca and Richie Palacios) get healthy.
But Morel is still young, still hits the ball hard – his 15.2 barrel percentage ranks in the 89th percentile and his bat speed puts him in the 87th percentile – and he has a plus arm (94th percentile in arm strength). A fresh start could help bring out the hitter we saw in Chicago.
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, White Sox
Vaughn has had his share of ups and downs since debuting for the White Sox in 2021, but the No. 3 pick in the 2019 Draft hit a new low two weeks ago when he was optioned to Triple-A following a subpar start to 2025. Vaughn averaged 18 homers with 69 RBIs, a .725 OPS and 101 OPS+ during his first four seasons in the Majors, but he had five homers, 19 RBIs and a .531 OPS in 48 games this season, leading to Chicago’s decision to demote him on May 23.
Vaughn turned 27 in April, so while he’s not washed up by any means, perhaps a move out of the Windy City would help reinvigorate his bat. Vaughn got a taste of the postseason during his rookie year, but Chicago lost 101 and 121 games the past two seasons, and the Sox appear to be on their way to another 100-loss record this year. Vaughn is earning $5.85 million this season and is arbitration-eligible for one more year before becoming a free agent at the end of 2026.
Devin Williams, RP, Yankees
At first glance, trading the two-time All-Star reliever after acquiring him this winter seems like a crazy idea, but Williams has never seemed comfortable since joining the Yankees during the offseason. There was the facial hair issue during Spring Training, then a rocky start (10.00 ERA in his first 10 appearances) that cost him the closer’s job before the end of April.
He’s been better during the past month (2.45 ERA in 12 appearances), but Williams will be a free agent after the season and seems unlikely to return to the Yankees in 2026. With Luke Weaver firmly entrenched as the closer (at least once he returns from the IL in a month or so), New York could look to move Williams later in July to get a return for him rather than watching him walk as a free agent.
Masataka Yoshida, DH/OF, Red Sox
The Red Sox don’t appear to have a spot for Yoshida, who has been out all year following last October’s shoulder surgery. The 31-year-old had 35 at-bats during Spring Training, but with Rafael Devers moving to the designated hitter role, Boston needed Yoshida to get work in the outfield, where he played only one inning in 2024. He’s still on the 60-day IL trying to build up his arm strength, but he could probably step in as a DH right now for a team in need of one.
Yoshida has shown the ability to hit big league pitching during his first two seasons, slashing .285/.343/.433 with 25 home runs, 128 RBIs and a 111 OPS+ in 248 games. He’s been quite effective against righties, hitting .300 with an .810 OPS in 749 plate appearances. In 2024, he ranked in the top 5 percent of the league in both whiff percentage (14.6%) and strikeout percentage (12.4%).
Yoshida is earning $18.6 million annually between now and 2027, so the Red Sox would likely have to eat a large portion of the contract in order to move him, but for a player with no obvious role in Boston, any type of salary relief makes sense; for Yoshida, getting an opportunity to play even semi-regularly would be welcome.