3 Very Unpopular Trade Ideas for American League Teams

The hot stove season is just about upon us, as baseball trade talks will be all the rage as teams around the league whose seasons ended early will be looking for ways to improve their outlook.

And while some trades are easy ones to make, there are some that just hurt, but sometimes have to be done.

With that in mind, Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report has offered a number of what he calls "unpopular" trade ideas this winter, and we present here three of them:

1. Baltimore Orioles Should Trade Jordan Westburg

What? Trade a young All-Star? Let's face it, the Orioles have more elite offensive prospects than they know what to do with. Trading Westburg, who was actually named an All-Star in 2024 in his first full season, would hurt. But imagine the return they could get to help fill out their pitching staff. Baltimore stands to lose Corbin Burnes in free agency, and they'll need to find a boost for the rotation.

2. Minnesota Twins Should Trade Royce Lewis

The former top prospect in baseball has had a helluva time staying on the field in his short time in the majors, and don't the Twins already have a regular staple on the injured list in Byron Buxton to worry about? Yes, Lewis has all the talent in the world, but if he can't play (only 82 games this season and 58 last year), how much can he really help?

Because of his electric stretches at the plate thus far in his young career, he still might have enough prospect caché to bring in a nice haul that the Twins could use to replenish a wilting pitching staff.

3. The Yankees Should Trade Luke Weaver

The team has a $2.5 million club option on Weaver for next season, and if they pick it up, they could sell high on a pitcher having a complete outlier of a season. Weaver had a career ERA of close to 5.00 coming into 2024, and somehow, out of nowhere, made himself into an elite high-leverage reliever. He has blown away all of his previous career marks by moving to the Yankees bullpen. At the age of 31, can he really be expected to replicate that going forward? Some team would pay a pretty penny to add a $2.5 million "closer" coming off a season like Weaver has had (despite his struggles in his last two ALCS appearances going into Saturday).