The Untouchables: MLB Prospects Who Are Off Limits at Trade Deadline

The hang-up-the-phone guys. The I’m-going-to-pretend-you-didn’t-just-ask-me-that players. Call them whatever you want, but this is a list dedicated to the top prospects in baseball who will be traded at the deadline under no circumstances.

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Any selling team looking to reload their farm system with high-end talent can keep on looking if it’s one of these top prospects they’re seeking in return, because it just isn’t happening.

For the purposes of this list, we focused mostly on the teams likely to buy at the trade deadline, with a couple of needle-threaders sprinkled in. We also limited ourselves to one off-limits prospect per team so we couldn’t just rehash the top portion of our top 50 prospects. Feel free to call us out if any of these guys get dealt.

Without further ado, here are the untouchables.

SS Jesús Made, Milwaukee Brewers

MLB Pipeline Rank: 1

Team Rank: 1

MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect, the 19-year-old Made is already at the Double A level, where he has produced a .784 OPS with 29 stolen bases in 85 games. The switch-hitting Made, at 6’1″ and 221 pounds, is well-built for a shortstop and also boasts incredible athleticism, which only adds to a tantalizing profile.

The Brewers seem poised for an aggressive trade deadline (perhaps a run at Tarik Skubal?), though any trade overtures would stop in their tracks if Made’s name pops up.

OF Josue De Paula, Los Angeles Dodgers

MLB Pipeline Rank: 4

Team Rank: 1

Twenty-one year olds aren’t supposed to possess the kind of plate discipline that De Paula has-he owns identical 13.5% strikeout and walk rates for the Dodgers’ Double A affiliate. Unfortunately, his defense hasn’t quite measured up to his bat, which produces loud contact to all fields and an OPS north of .900 in the minors this year.

The Dodgers could deal from their surplus of top outfield prospects for the right player, just don’t expect it to be De Paula.

LHP Kade Anderson, Seattle Mariners

MLB Pipeline Rank: 5

Team Rank: 1

Armed with two top-10 pitching prospects in Anderson and Ryan Sloan, the Mariners possess what every selling team covets. Both are likely untouchable, but if the Mariners had to cling to only one, it would likely be the more MLB-ready Anderson, who has dominated Double A hitters to the tune of a 1.27 ERA and 41.7% strikeout rate.

If the Mariners deal from their surplus of big-league starting pitching to give the faltering club a jolt in the AL West race, could Anderson get the call to the majors?

RHP Seth Hernandez, Pirates

MLB Pipeline Rank: 6

Team Rank: 1

The Pirates front office surprised many with their aggressiveness this past winter, and they may do so again at the trade deadline with the club poised to end the National League’s longest postseason drought.

Even before his potentially season-ending oblique strain, Hernandez (2.43 ERA, 40.4% strikeout rate in 74 IP), who boasts four plus offerings and an athletic 6’4″ frame, would have been off-limits.

SS Franklin Arias, Boston Red Sox

MLB Pipeline Rank: 7

Team Rank: 1

The Red Sox’ surge up the standings has vaulted the club from potentially acquiring prospects to now possibly offering up its own prospect capital. Arias, a capable defensive shortstop with exceptional contact skills and plate discipline (13.9% strikeout rate in 75 Double A games), won’t be among Boston’s farm system assets up for grabs.

OF Theo Gillen, Tampa Bay Rays

MLB Pipeline Rank: 9

Team Rank: 1

The Rays traditionally have eschewed big splashes at the deadline, preferring to keep any trade chips in the farm and rely on their top-shelf player development system. Rumor has it that Tampa Bay, with the best record in a weak AL, might just be moving differently this year.

Even so, Gillen, who has broken out between High A and Double A to the tune of a .996 OPS, 16 homers and 36 stolen bases, is off the table in trade talks.

SS/3B Sebastian Walcott, Texas Rangers

MLB Pipeline Rank: 10

Team Rank: 1

If there were any doubts about Walcott’s future after he underwent an internal brace procedure to repair a torn UCL, he has quickly eased any concerns in his return in 2026. The 6’4″ slugger with freakish bat speed has hit .395 with three homers and three stolen bases in 11 games.

While Walcott possesses a strong arm, he profiles as a more consistent long-term defender at third base or in right field. Two things are for sure. His bat will produce wherever he goes on the field, and he’s not going anywhere no matter what trade conversations the Rangers have at the deadline.

C Rainiel Rodriguez, St. Louis Cardinals

MLB Pipeline Rank: 12

Team Rank: 1

The Cardinals’ youth at the big league level has accelerated the timeline and changed what was previously thought to be possible in 2026 for St. Louis. Even so, should the Cardinals opt to buy, Rainiel Rodriguez, the top catching prospect in all of baseball, won’t be dangled in any trades.

While Rodriguez has struggled a bit defensively at catcher, leading the Cardinals to try him out at first base in 2026, his bat is potent. The 19-year-old has jumped from High A to Double A, where he has held his own with a .273/.362/.455 slash line.

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OF Walker Jenkins, Minnesota Twins

MLB Pipeline Rank: 14

Team Rank: 1

Jenkins has had his share of injuries in the minors, but has consistently rebounded-and 2026 is no different. Jenkins suffered a shoulder injury in May after a collision with the outfield wall, but the Twins’ top prospect has posted a .333 batting average with four home runs, nine doubles and a pair of triples since returning to action.

Jenkins is close to being MLB-ready and is someone the Twins, even in the middle of a postseason chase in a weak AL, won’t be giving up for anyone.

SS George Lombard Jr., New York Yankees

MLB Pipeline Rank: 20

Team Rank: 1

The Yankees haven’t historically considered many prospects untouchable but Lombard, who has impressed with both his MLB-ready glove and remarkably patient eye at the plate, is definitely one of them.

Should Lombard begin to drive the ball in the air more, he could be a future 25–25 guy with smooth defensive skills. The Yankees aren’t trading a player like that, especially with the likes of Jose Caballero and Anthony Volpe unlikely long-term options at shortstop.

C Ethan Salas, San Diego Padres

MLB Pipeline Rank: 30

Team Rank: 1

One would assume Padres top prospect Ethan Salas would be off-limits at the deadline, but one never knows with the ever-aggressive A.J. Preller, who dealt away Leo De Vries last year in the package for Mason Miller.

Even Preller would find it difficult to move on from Salas, who has bounced back after an injury-riddled 2025 to post a .286/.361/.417 slash line in Double A, recently earning the promotion to Triple A. Salas combines capable hitting skills with strong defense behind the plate.

1B Ralphy Valezquez, Cleveland Guardians

MLB Pipeline Rank: 33

Team Rank: 1

It hasn’t been in the Guardians’ nature to deal away high-end prospects for upgrades at trade deadlines past. And while Cleveland, in the mix for both the AL Central division title and wild card, is going to scour for upgrades in a push for the postseason, the top shelf of their farm system should remain in place.

Velazquez, a powerful lefty slugger who can hit both righties and southpaws, is the kind of player the offense-starved Guardians may need at the big-league level soon, and certainly not a player who will be expendable.

RF/1B Josiah Hartshorn, Chicago Cubs

MLB Pipeline Rank: 61

Team Rank: 1

There may be no team in baseball that needs the trade deadline more than the Cubs, whose patchwork rotation is beset by injuries and downturns in performance. While some of Chicago’s upper-echelon prospects may be offered up in return for starting pitching upgrades, Hartshorn almost certainly won’t be one of them.

The switch-hitting outfielder was recently elevated to the status of top organizational prospect, has posted an .893 OPS and 15% walk rate between Single A and High A, and, if he can continue to show strides defensively, could be part of the Cubs’ somewhat uncertain long-term plans in right field.

OF Francisco Renteria, Philadelphia Phillies

MLB Pipeline Rank: 87

Team Rank: 3

While fellow top prospects Aidan Miller, who hasn’t played yet this season due to a back injury, and Gage Wood certainly would be difficult to part with, the Phillies’ hang-up-the-phone-now guy might just be Francisco Renteria.

The 17-year-old is a potential five-tool player at a premium position in center field and has produced a 1.085 OPS with six homers, seven triples and 18 stolen bases in the Dominican Summer League.

SS Kayson Cunningham, Arizona Diamondbacks

MLB Pipeline Rank: 89

Team Rank: 1

Playing against competition nearly three years older than him in High A ball, Cunningham has scuffled just a bit after tearing the cover off the ball in 43 games at Single A. But the swing decisions have remained solid and the 20-year-old has made strides defensively at shortstop, where the Diamondbacks would like to keep him long-term.

Arizona, right in the thick of the NL wild card race, will engage in plenty of discussions at the trade deadline. Cunningham won’t be a part of them.

More MLB from Sports Illustrated

• Five Players Who Could Use a Chance of Scenery at the MLB Trade Deadline
• Five Realistic Tarik Skubal Trade Packages We Made With a Value Simulator
• The Stance Change That Saved Manny Machado’s Season
• Four Realistic Mason Miller Trade Proposals Using a Trade Value Model
• MLB Veteran Alek Thomas Run Over By Minor-League Mascot Riding on Scooter

This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Untouchables: MLB Prospects Who Are Off Limits at Trade Deadline.

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This story was originally published July 30, 2026 at 4:02 AM.