Elvis Alvarado Could Be the A's Best Movable Trade Deadline Piece

While all of the trade deadline focus surrounding the A's is on whether or not they'll end up trading Shea Langeliers, there are other pieces that could actually be moved. Teams have been reportedly checking in on A's outfielders, and in any deal they end up making in the next week or so, the return is simple: the A's want pitching.

One of the A's biggest trade pieces could also end up being right-handed relief pitcher Elvis Alvarado. He sits at 98.7 mph, giving him elite velocity, and he has plenty of team control remaining, which ups his trade value. 

He's pitched to a 5.59 ERA (5.21 FIP) this season, but he's also excelled away from Sacramento with a 3.14 ERA across 14 ⅓ innings and a .192 batting average against, adding a 1.05 WHIP. In other words, he's been a solid pitcher for the A's on the road, working a scoreless eighth on Friday night.

The 2025 campaign was his first in the big leagues, and he held a 3.19 ERA over 42 ⅓ innings both home and away. His road numbers suggest he's pitched well this season, but hasn't been able to make the adjustment to Sacramento's ballpark, where the A's are playing while their Las Vegas facility is under construction.

With one more season in Sacramento left before the planned relocation to Las Vegas, this would be a great time to move Alvarado. While he's still young at just 27 years old, he'll be in his age 29 campaign when the A's finally arrive in Las Vegas, and there is no guarantee that he'll still be performing at this type of clip. 

Relievers are volatile like that, and the A's have traded a relief pitcher with years of control remaining each of the past three deadlines. 

In 2023, they moved lefty Sam Moll to the Cincinnati Reds for Joe Boyle (who turned into Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez). The following year, the A's traded Lucas Erceg to the Kansas City Royals, landing Mason Barnett, Will Klein and Jared Dickey. 

Last year's deadline featured the Mason Miller trade, where the A's added the second-best prospect in MLB to their system in Leo De Vries. Alvarado would make the most sense as the next reliever in this sequence. 

As far as a return would go, the specific names would depend on where he'd end up, and given that every team needs relief pitchers at this time of year, any team looking to make a postseason push is a target. But in terms of the type of players the A's would target, it would make sense for them to zero in on a name or two.

While Klein looked like he could be a nice piece for the A's when they got him from Kansas City, he was designated for assignment just a few months later when they signed José Leclerc. 

The Milwaukee Brewers need bullpen help at the deadline and have a proven track record of developing pitchers. Alvarado could reach another level there. 

Given how the A's have structured these deals, a pitcher from the Brewers like Tyson Hardin, their No. 9 prospect, would be a nice fit. He has a 3.48 ERA across 62 Triple-A Nashville innings this season with 17 walks allowed and 62 strikeouts. They would then need to add another player that could be an addition to the bullpen immediately. 

The Brewers make a decent amount of sense for Alvarado, since he has the stuff to be successful, and they have had plenty of success bringing in pitchers and helping them find another gear. 

The A's are bound to make a couple of deals this deadline, and Alvarado is one of the pieces that may take some people by surprise, but he has the arsenal, the home-road split, and the team control. The A's also have a history of moving relievers just like him this time of year.