Hypothetical thought exercise

[Cory Engelhardt]

Ok, here is a hypothetical that I would love your thoughts on...

Trade deadline coming up. My GUESS is that they will trade Ryan, Jeffers and Larnach all that the height of their value. I could see Ober being in the discussion too, but for now I'm only talking the first 3.

I ALSO think they could still be in playoff discussion, so Tom being the way he is, it's POSSIBLE they also add a reliever. Not certain who that is.

My question for you is; let's say they do trade Jeffers and Ryan in separate deals, as well as Larnach. I THINK Alan Roden will be up soon to take over Larnach's spot, but otherwise, IF they trade Jeffers, they will need a catcher ongoing and into 2027.

Based on both A) Who is winning this year, and B) Who would want Ryan, my question is, what teams would be able to make a trade happen that have a good defensive catcher available who can break into the majors either immediately or early in 2027? Off the top of my head, that's...

 

1) St. Louis, they have options

2) Milwaukee, if Jeferson Quero is fully healthy

 

After that, help me out.

What team can offer a strong package with a mlb ready catcher for Joe Ryan? That's my hypothetical. Honestly, off the top of my head, Milwaukee would be my favorite as they could offer Quero, maybe Luis Pena and probably a pitcher. But I'd love to hear your thoughts. Then after that, Jeffers could be moved somewhere for what essentially would top the QO draft pick return for the 2027 draft IF they were to QO him.

What do you all think?