Who is trading a legit MLB middle of the order bat for either one?
A team trading for Ryan or Lopez expects to contend in 2026, and they're not removing a key piece of their offense.
And that ignores the very real question of Lopez,'s worth in a trade. IF he comes back and gets 4-5 starts, proves himself healthy and really good, then yeah. He'd be a valuable trade piece. Short of all three of those things, his value starts dropping off pretty quick.
In any case, the return would be prospects. How close to the big leagues is certainly debatable. But they won't be traded for established big leaguers. And absolutely not a "middle of the order bat."
Trading one or both of Lopez/Ryan pushes back any chance of contending, rather than speeds it up.