Major League Baseball's 2024 trade deadline is long gone. The waiver deadline has also passed and 40-man rosters around the league won't be changing much at all during the three weeks remaining before the finish line.

What if they could change, though?

What if there was another trade deadline looming, where contenders could try to address their possibly fatal flaw(s) while the other half of the league got another chance to add to its farm system?

In that entirely hypothetical scenario, we've put together a guess at what each team would try to do.

We're not going to bother with putting together actual trade packages. Rather, it's what each team would be looking to trade for/away, presented in alphabetical order by division.

American League East

Baltimore Orioles: A Trade for a starting pitcher

Bringing in a healthy infielder or two would be nice, too, with all of Ryan Mountcastle, Ramón Urías, Jordan Westburg and Jorge Mateo currently on the IL.

However, with Corbin Burnes struggling in recent weeks, the short supply of reliable O's starters feels even more pronounced than usual.

It's a darn good thing they did trade for Zach Eflin, but it'd be swell if they could add at least one more arm to a rotation that needs Grayson Rodriguez back from his lat injury ASAP. Even if Burnes, Eflin and Rodriguez are all healthy for October, the starter for Baltimore's fourth postseason game will be a colossal question mark.

Boston Red Sox: A Trade for a starting pitcher

Boston did bring back James Paxton ahead of the trade deadline, but that was a half-measure from a team that really should have been swinging big for an ace.

Since the deadline, the Red Sox have allowed more runs than any other team in the American League, dropping from 1.5 games back of the No. 6 seed to a nearly hopeless five games out of the mix. If they could get a few starts down the stretch from, say, Blake Snell, though, that deficit wouldn't feel quite as hopeless.

New York Yankees: A Trade for a closer

Clay Holmes opened the season 13-for-14 in save chances, not allowing a single earned run in his first 20 innings pitched.

Now, the Yankees are looking to get "creative" at closer, with Holmes blowing 10 of his last 26 save chances with a 5.14 ERA.

We all kind of assumed the Yankees were going to be the ones that acquired Tanner Scott from the Marlins ahead of the trade deadline. But they didn't. And now they're paying for it.

Tampa Bay Rays: A Trade of Brandon Lowe

The Rays did a phenomenal job of dumping what minimal salary they had in the first place. Just in trading away Randy Arozarena, Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale, Isaac Paredes and Jason Adam, they shaved about $11M off their 2024 payroll, got out from under Eflin's $18M salary in 2025 as well as the arbitration-eligible salaries the other four are going to get (probably around $30M-$35M combined) and impressively re-stockpiled their farm system in the process.

They were unable to unload Brandon Lowe, though, which would have saved them close to $4M if you include the $1M buyout they'll owe on his $10.5M club option for 2025.

Toronto Blue Jays: A Trade of Chad Green

Green is making $10.5M both this season and next, and Toronto plausibly could have sold high on that eight-figure salary, even though Green had a 4.18 FIP lurking ominously behind his 1.62 ERA at the trade deadline.

Green does have 16 saves this season, but two-time All-Star Jordan Romano should be back at closer for the Blue Jays in 2025 after an injury-riddled 2024 campaign. And paying that type of money for a set-up man is a bit excessive.

American League Central

Chicago White Sox: A Trade for one of those memory erasing devices from Men In Black

At any rate, that might be the only thing that will make people forget how historically awful this season has been.

Alternatively, trading away Andrew Benintendi might help morale among what's left of the fan base. Even though he has hit 15 home runs this season and quietly had a really solid month of August (.952 OPS), the more than three years left on his $75M deal have become Exhibit A in this franchise's demise.

Cleveland Guardians: A Trade for an outfielder who can hit the ball

Remember in late June when Steven Kwan was flirting with a .400 batting average?

Well, he's hitting .184 since July 20 and isn't even looking likely for a .300 batting average anymore. Lane Thomas is batting .196 since Cleveland acquired him. And Tyler Freeman—who was Cleveland's near-everyday starting CF for the first half of the season—has become completely unplayable, batting .083 since the beginning of August.

Save for "Big Christmas" Jhonkensy Noel as the part-time right-fielder, Cleveland's entire outfield has been a mess at the plate for a while now, and largely responsible for making the AL Central race a close one again for a hot minute.

Detroit Tigers: A Trade for a slugger

Preferably a controllable slugger, because Detroit's chances of sneaking into the playoffs this year are pretty low. But home runs have been few and far between for this squad for some time now.

In 37 games dating back to July 27, the only Tigers with more than three home runs are Spencer Torkelson (four since getting called back up on August 17) and Kerry Carpenter (six since coming off the IL on August 13).

Kansas City Royals: A Trade for a first baseman

Vinnie Pasquantino had emerged as a solid second fiddle to Bobby Witt Jr. in Kansas City's lineup, so losing him to a broken thumb last week was a major blow to the Royals' already slim World Series hopes.

They did scoop up Yuli Gurriel just in time for him to be eligible for their postseason roster, but the 40-year-old lasted all of two games before suffering a hamstring injury, so we'll see if he can provide anything down the stretch / in October. But, man, imagine if the Royals had traded for Yandy Díaz, who is batting nearly .300 since the deadline.

Minnesota Twins: A Trade for a starting pitcher

Bailer Ober has been quietly incredible since mid-June, recording a quality start in 12 of his last 13 appearances. Pablo López has drastically turned his season around after entering the All-Star Break with a 5.11 ERA. And though they have given him almost no run support whatsoever, David "Slim Reaper" Festa has been pitching pretty well since late July.

But Simeon Woods Richardson has a 5.79 ERA in his last seven starts, Zebby Matthews has a 7.36 ERA since getting called up and this rotation just hasn't packed anywhere near the same punch since losing Joe Ryan to a season-ending shoulder injury last month. Such is life, though, when you're left to rely upon three rookies.

American League West

Houston Astros: A Trade for an outfield bat

The combined force of Yordan Alvarez, Yainer Diaz, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Jeremy Peña has kept this offense humming along. But with the exception of the games when Alvarez is in LF instead of DH, Houston's outfield has been a hot mess at the dish.

The good news is that Kyle Tucker is finally back after a hiatus of more than three months with a fractured shin. Will he be able to reharness his pre-injury MVP form, though? Even getting Tucker back doesn't save them from the eternal dilemma of whether to start Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers or Mauricio Dubón in center.

Los Angeles Angels: A Trade of Luis Rengifo and Tyler Anderson

Anderson is owed $13M next season before hitting free agency. Rengifo has one year of arbitration eligibility left. Considering there's little to no hope of this team contending next season, we all assumed they would both be on the move, Anderson with a sub-3.00 ERA and Rengifo batting .300.

Instead, the Angels held onto both, only to immediately watch their values tank. Anderson had a 5.97 ERA in six starts in August, while Rengifo landed on the IL with a season-ending wrist injury just three days after the deadline. Whoops.

Oakland Athletics: A Trade of Osvaldo Bido

Since the beginning of August, Bido has been low-key one of the most valuable pitchers in baseball, logging 34.1 innings with a 2.36 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. But he turns 29 next month, had never been regarded as a top-tier prospect and is probably a flash in the pan.

With so many contenders who could use (at least) one more starting pitcher, though, the A's would ignite quite a bidding war if they could trade him now.

Seattle Mariners: A Trade for someone, anyone, who can hit a baseball

There are 14 players who have made at least 25 plate appearances for the Mariners since the trade deadline. Only four of them are batting at least .240, while six are sitting at .200 or worse.

Both Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner land in between those two groups, but those acquisitions did nothing to fix what has been a disappointing offense all season long.

Texas Rangers: A Trade of several pitchers

If Spotrac's estimates are correct, Texas is nearly $12M above the competitive balance tax threshold and headed for a second consecutive season with a relatively small luxury tax payment.

But the Rangers could have easily avoided that and reset their 'tax offender clock' by simply unloading their impending free agent pitchers.

Trading away Andrew Heaney, Max Scherzer, Kirby Yates and Jose Leclerc would have saved them right around $12M, not to mention the prospect haul they could have gotten by making those arms available on what was a lackluster trade block.

National League East

Atlanta Braves: A Trade for Joc Pederson

Atlanta's whole "getting the 2021 band back together" experiment has been a complete disaster. Adam Duvall is hitting .155 since the All-Star Break. They cut Eddie Rosario after 24 games with a .154 batting average. And if you take out the series in Colorado where he went 7-for-13 with four home runs, Jorge Soler is 10-for-76 (.132) with one home run since returning to the Braves at the trade deadline.

Joc Pederson never was on the trade block, thriving for a postseason-bound Diamondbacks squad, but that's the late addition to the 2021 roster that would've actually helped this year's team.

Miami Marlins: A Trade of Jesús Tinoco

After trading away all of A.J. Puk, Tanner Scott, Bryan Hoeing, Huascar Brazobán and JT Chargois, the Marlins had all sorts of room in their bullpen and quietly claimed Tinoco off waivers on July 30.

Since then, he has been one of the best late-summer acquisitions in all of baseball, logging 17.1 IP with a 1.56 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 12.5 K/9.

Probably wouldn't be able to get much for a guy on his fourth team of the year, but save for the Guardians and Padres, just about every contender could use at least one more bullpen arm right about now.

New York Mets: A Trade for a starting pitcher

The 1-2 punch of David Peterson and Sean Manaea has done a lot of heavy lifting lately. The Mets have won 12 of Manaea's last 14 starts, as well as 14 of Peterson's last 16 outings.

Since July 30, though, Luis Severino has a 4.66 ERA, Jose Quintana is nearly a full run worse at 5.63, Paul Blackburn split the difference with a 5.18 mark in his five starts before landing on the IL and the best case scenario with Kodai Senga is that he makes one start at the end of the regular season once he's eligible to return from the 60-day IL.

One more reliable arm in the rotation could get them over the hump and into the postseason.

Philadelphia Phillies: A Trade for a center fielder

It's still baffling that Philadelphia's trade deadline solution to its outfield problem was trying to buy low on Austin Hays.

Hays did hit a grand slam in what still ended up being a 12-inning loss to the Yankees, but he otherwise has just one RBI since his arrival on July 27. If they don't start him in left, though, then they're right back to where they were before the deadline with Johan Rojas' sub-.600 OPS batting ninth and playing center field.

If the Phillies had been the ones to swing a deal for Jazz Chisholm Jr., they'd probably be the World Series favorites right now.

Washington Nationals: A Trade for a nearly-ready pitching prospect

After several years of rebuilding, Washington's offense is getting there, following the midseason arrivals of top prospects James Wood and Dylan Crews. The Nationals may well be better than average in the runs scored department in 2025.

Their starting rotation remains a major problem, though, and one with no apparent cavalry coming from down on the farm in the next year or two. Adding a Triple-A pitcher with even a little bit of promise would be nice.

National League Central

Chicago Cubs: A Trade for a third baseman

Yes, they already did this once, sending Christopher Morel and two pitching prospects to Tampa Bay in exchange for Isaac Paredes.

It didn't help, though, as Paredes has been a total disaster in Chicago, batting .164 and committing nine errors in the span of 32 games.

They instead could have brought in Paul DeJong from just down the road for next to nothing. He has an .837 OPS and has only committed one error since landing in Kansas City.

Cincinnati Reds: A Trade of Jeimer Candelario

Candelario has been out since mid-August with a fractured toe, but he wasn't exactly providing any return on investment prior to the injury. The Reds committed $45M this past winter for three years of Candy, and despite 20 home runs, he hasn't even provided replacement-level production in the first year of that deal.

If they could get out from under the rest of that contract and re-purpose those funds to add a starting pitcher in free agency, got to believe they'd do it in a heartbeat.

Milwaukee Brewers: A Trade for a 1B/DH

Jackson Chourio, Willy Adames and William Contreras are each slugging at least .570 since the beginning of August, combining for 28 home runs while leading what has been one of the most potent offenses since the trade deadline.

Beyond those three spots in the order, though, it has been an adventure—particularly at 1B/DH, with Rhys Hoskins and Jake Bauers going a combined 25-for-161 (.155) during that same window. (Sal Frelick, Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang haven't exactly been hot at the dish, either.)

Pittsburgh Pirates: A Trade of Aroldis Chapman

At this point, trading away Chapman would only save the Pirates about $1.3M. But, hey, that's more than they're paying most of the players on their roster, so why not?

Chapman had major issues with walks early in the year (32 BB in his first 32.2 IP), but he has only issued five free passes in 20 innings of work over the past two months, resulting in a 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 6.0 K/BB ratio.

Suffice it to say, the Yankees would love a reunion with Chapman right about now.

St. Louis Cardinals: A Trade for a starting pitcher

It's probably too late for the Cardinals to make it back into the wild card picture. But if we've got the Red Sox, Tigers and Mariners as buyers in this exercise, best do the same for the Cardinals in a nearly identical spot in the NL picture.

And if they are going for it, adding an arm or three to the rotation sure would help.

Miles Mikolas has a 6.44 ERA since the beginning of August. Kyle Gibson (5.77) hasn't been much better. Lance Lynn (knee) hasn't pitched since late July. And Erick Fedde has been quite mediocre since the Cardinals acquired him from the White Sox. Even Sonny Gray hasn't been anything special for a little while now, posting a 5.05 ERA over his last 12 starts.

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks: A Trade for a starting pitcher

Since making their respective returns from the IL in mid-August, both Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodríguez have given the Diamondbacks an ERA well north of 5.00. And since the beginning of August, so have both Brandon Pfaadt and Jordan Montgomery.

The Snakes are still more than getting by on the strength of what is by far the highest-scoring offense in baseball. However, it'd be a lot easier to buy this team winning the World Series if they could occasionally shut down an opposing offense on a night when Zac Gallen isn't starting.

Colorado Rockies: A Trade of Brendan Rodgers

What the Rockies would really love to do is trade away Kris Bryant and the more than $100M left on his contract. But even for what is a fictitious premise, let's at least try to be a little realistic here.

Rodgers has one year of arbitration eligibility remaining with a franchise that will not be contending in 2025. And since the All-Star Break, he has been one of the more valuable second basemen in the majors with seven home runs and an .807 OPS.

However, the Rockies would need to find a trade partner who can look past the fact that Rodgers has season-long splits of .889 OPS at Coors Field and .583 everywhere else.

Los Angeles Dodgers: A Trade of the injury bug

No one is going to feel sorry for the poor Dodgers who can get seemingly any free agent they want, but they really cannot buy a break on the injury front this season.

In theory, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (returning this week), Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone and Clayton Kershaw will all be available for the postseason and could combine with Jack Flaherty to give the Dodgers the best rotation in October.

The way things have gone all season long with this pitching staff, though, the over/under on how many of those five are actually available for the NLDS might be 2.5.

San Diego Padres: A Trade for early-season Jurickson Profar

With a bullpen that was restocked in a huge way at the deadline, with both Fernando Tatis Jr. and Yu Darvish recently returning from months-long absences and with Joe Musgrove absolutely shoving as of late, it's starting to feel like the Padres might be the team to beat this October.

If only they could trade for the version of Profar that had a .925 OPS through the first 72 games of the season to replace the one that has been batting .192 since the beginning of August. Then they'd be nearly impossible to beat in a best-of-seven series.

San Francisco Giants: A Trade of Blake Snell

There were rumors ahead of the deadline that the G-Men might be willing to move Snell and his massive player option for 2025, but it didn't happen.

Since the beginning of July, he has made 11 starts with a 1.42 ERA, including a no-hitter against the Reds.

Some lot of good it's done the Giants, though, who have played .500 baseball since the beginning of July and are now as good as dead in the wild-card race.