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The calendar has finally hit May, and the MLB season is a little over a month into full gear, meaning the trade deadline is approaching closer with each day. There will possibly be some surprises, but there are also several players who feel like surefire trade candidates.
One of the players in the latter category is Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo López. López has been traded once in his career and as of now he looks like the best pitcher on a Twins team that is going nowhere. It will not be a surprise to most if his name is very popular when the trade deadline comes around.
Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly has predicted López will be one of the most coveted names on the market, and for good reason. He could provide much-needed pitching depth for several teams and be an instrumental part of a postseason run for someone.
Kelly mentioned the Cubs, Yankees, Padres, Braves, Giants and Astros all as potential fits and landing spots for the 29-year-old right hander. Those teams all make sense, as well as other destinations not even listed such as Milwaukee and Los Angeles.
López is 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA and 26 strikeouts across 28 innings and five starts this season. It is looking like he will have a much-needed bounce back year after he finished last season with a 4.08 ERA. López is hoping to return to the form that earned him an All-Star game appearance and Cy Young Award votes just two seasons ago.
The market for López has the potential so robust because of the struggles from Miami Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcántara. Alcántara was expected to be the most targeted pitcher at the deadline, but his ERA of 8.31 and only 19 strikeouts across 26 innings says otherwise.
The history of postseason success for López will also play a huge role in his trade market. He has pitched 17 1/3 innings with an ERA of 1.53 and 17 strikeouts. Those are numbers that any playoff hopeful team will love to see and make him even more wanted than he already is.
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About the writer
Andrew Wright is a Newsweek contributor based in Lancaster, South Carolina. His focus is MLB content. Andrew has been with ... Read more