The MLB trade deadline is getting closer with each passing day, and reports are being made on several players beginning to draw interest.
There are surprise trade candidates every season, as well as candidates who perform so poorly that they are not wanted anymore.
That has certainly been the case again this season, so here are three players that have completely lost their trade value.
Sandy Alcantara, SP, Miami Marlins
Prior to the season, Alcantara was widely considered the most surefire trade candidate, and it felt almost certain he would be playing for two different teams this year.
With each and every start the former Cy Young winner makes, that is looking less and less likely. He is 2-7 with an 8.04 ERA and just 40 strikeouts across 10 starts and 47 innings pitched. He leads all pitchers with 42 earned runs allowed and he has walked 25 batters compared to his 40 strikeouts.
Alcantara has one more season plus a club option left on his deal, and it is extremely likely he will remain in Miami this season and use next year as his comeback year to prove that is still able to compete at the highest level.
Luis Robert, CF, Chicago White Sox
If Alcantara wasn’t the most surefire trade piece prior to the season, then it would’ve had to be Robert. The lone star player that was on the worst team in the history of MLB would be the perfect trade piece.
This season has been unkind to Robert, who currently has a .191 average with just five home runs through 178 at-bats. He has struck out 59 times compared to just 21 walks taken. The lone good thing Robert is doing has come on the base path, where he leads MLB with 21 stolen bases.
A player that once could’ve warranted a king’s ransom in return will now likely remain in Chicago for the rest of the season, or if he is traded, won’t return even half as much as he could’ve just a couple seasons ago.
Andrew Heaney, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Heaney wasn’t the obvious trade candidate Alcantara or Robert were prior to the season, but it wouldn’t have been very hard to pinpoint him as one.
A left-handed pitcher on a one-year deal with a team that wasn’t expected to do well makes Heaney a prime candidate. While the numbers don’t look bad on the surface, his value has diminished a bit over the last month.
Heaney has allowed 13 runs over his last five starts, compared to 10 runs in his first six. In those last five starts, he’s walked 15 batters compared to just 13 strikeouts. Allowing free runners will not be appealing to a team that is hoping for Heaney’s services to aid it in a postseason run.
It is likely that at least two of these players will be traded prior to the trade deadline, but the return packages, especially for Robert and Alcantara, will be minimal to what they were expected to be prior to the season.
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