Contending Major League Baseball teams are on the prowl to add starting pitching via trade.

The MLB trade deadline is August 1.

Unless their contracts are extended, the pitchers below are eligible to become free agents following the 2023 World Series.

Each of the four pitchers profiled has the talent and ability to add value to a starting rotation, as MLB moves towards the stretch run.

Teams would be “renting” the pitcher for the remaining two months of the season.

Shohei Ohtani is widely believed to be the best player on the planet.

And he just turned 29 July 5.

Analysts are wondering if the Angels will keep Ohtani or trade him? If they keep him, and he leaves for another club via free agency, they get nothing in return.

Other than saying he wants to win, Ohtani has left few clues about his future.

Ohtani currently makes $30 million. The sky might be the limit if Ohtani hits the open market. The sun,, the moon, and the stars may be in play, as well. That’s how good he is.

A three-time All Star, as a pitcher, Ohtani has a record of 7-4. a 3.32 ERA, and a 1.09 WHIP this year. Ohtani has yielded 14 home runs in 100.1 innings pitched. He strikes out an average of 11.5 hitters per nine innings. He walks an average of 3.9 per nine.

As a hitter, Ohtani is hitting .302/.387/.663/1.050 with 33 homers and 71 RBIs in 398 plate appearances.

Ohtani is a double-edged sword to the opposition. He can dominate on both sides of the ball.

Widely touted as the best player since Babe Ruth, Ohtani would offer a major boost to any team wishing to package quality players to the Angels at the trade deadline.

The Angels have a serious decision to make within half a month.

Aaron Nola would be almost impossible to pry away from the Philadelphia Phillies. The team is 12 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League West. But they do have a shot as a Wild Card.

Nola currently earns $16 million.

But what will Nola cost going forward? The Phillies payroll sits at $244 million, which puts them at the second tier of MLB’s four Luxury Tax thresholds.

If Philadelphia keeps Nola and fails to make the playoffs, they will have missed an opportunity to bring back value for Nola. Or, what happens if they don’t trade Nola, and he chooses to go elsewhere as a free agent? That’s the dilemma. Nola and the playoffs are tied together.

This year, Nola has a record of 8-6 with a 4.39 ERA,, and a 1.10 WHIP in 119 innings. He has struck out 9.1 hitters per nine innings, with a 1.6 walk rate.

Nola has been very sharp in his last few starts, making the decision for Philadelphia very difficult.

An outstanding pitcher, and young to be on the cusp of free agency, it would be very tough for the Dodgers to lose Urias to free agency.

Urias makes $14,25 million this year. His salary is a small part of the team’s estimated $228 million payroll. The Dodgers are just below the first tier of MLB’s $233 million Luxury Tax first threshold.

Urias missed time this season with a serious hamstring strain. He returned to the Dodgers rotation with a start July 1. His last start prior to that was May 18. There has been some rust in his appearances, but he has the history and track record that dictates success moving forward.

As the second half of their season begins, Urias is the No. 1 starter for the Dodgers.

Dodgers starters Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Ryan Pepiot, Noah Syndergaard, and Clayton Kershaw are all on the Injured List. The team is using three relatively inexperienced pitchers to start games.

Urias has a 6-5 record, with a 4.76 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 64.1 innings. He has struck out 8.8 hitters per nine innings, while walking 2 hitters per nine.

If the Dodgers have designs on signing Shohei Ohtani as a free agent, they may not want to extend Urias, allowing him to test free agency. But they would have to have assurance of getting their injured starters back for 2024.

The Minnesota Twins are in the midst of an American League Central Division pennant race.

Can they afford to trade their 2023 All Star pitcher? Or, by trading Gray, can they get a substantial enough return to solidify their team for future pennant races?

Gray is being paid $12.5 million of the team’s $158 million payroll. Based upon that figure, it would seem a nice contract boost/extension for Gray could be within the reach of Twins ownership.

Gray has a credible 11 year big league career. He is a reliable starter, but to this scout, not in the same category as Ohtani, Nola, or Urias.

This year, Gray carried a 4-3 record, 2.89 ERA, and 1.27 WHIP in 99.2 innings to his All Star Game appearance. He has yielded only three homers. Gray has a strikeout rate of 9.1 per nine innings, while walking 3.5 per nine, which is a bit high.

But as is noted in the list below, the Twins have two additional pending free agent pitchers, making losing Sonny Gray more difficult.

Here is a fairly comprehensive list of additional potential free agent pitchers:

Carlos Carrasco-RHP-Mets

Jack Flaherty-RHP-Cardinals

Lucas Giolito-RHP-White Sox

Zack Greinke-RHP-Royals

Clayton Kershaw-LHP-Dodgers

Kenta Maeda-RHP-Twins

Frankie Montas-RHP-Yankees (injured)

Jordan Montgomery-LHP-Cardinals

Jake Odorizzi-RHP-Rangers (injured)

Hyun Jin Ryu-LHP-Blue Jays (injured)

Luis Severino-RHP-Yankees

Blake Snell-LHP-Padres

Noah Syndergaard-RHP-Dodgers

Alex Wood-LHP-Giants

Tyler Mahle-RHP-Twins

Phones will be busy in the next two weeks.

Contending teams will want to add to their current pitching rotations.

Teams with pending free agents will try to pry away franchise changing young, controllable players to help boost their futures.

It should be an exciting two weeks in MLB.