At the Trade Deadline, a club might be deciding to buy or sell based on their record in just those few games out of first place. All it would require is a winning or losing streak in the week before that Deadline to shift which category might apply.
Of course, the challenge there is being able to tell a legit postseason contender from just another pie-in-the-sky prediction. With so many clubs in contention at this point of the season, before and after baseball’s deadline for trades without waivers it becomes clear over these next two weeks what needs to be done-that is, provided front offices don’t already know how they feel about where their club stands.
According to MLB, here’s how each team is seeing the July 30 Trade Deadline com’s beat writers.
American League East
Blue Jays: Soft sell
If the Blue Jays end up trading away some players that have team control through next season, this could get.at least 100 times more interesting. But for the time being it seems they are doubling down on one last pivot to a run in 2025Who Will Be Buying and Selling At The Trade Deadline?. Their best trade chips would be Yusei Kikuchi and Yimi Garcia, followed by Trevor Richards, Danny Jansen, Justin Turner and Kevin Kiermaier. There aren’t many chances to salvage a real, upper-level prospect here so the Jays might have to get creative. If this is indeed the final run for so many who were part of ’25, then July 30 need be the first step along those lines. — Keegan Matheson
Orioles: Buy aggressively
The Orioles need to improve upon their pitching in time for a contending push the last quarter of the season, and potentially through October. Pittsburgh at No. 1 is the one spot where inconsistency until recently might be excusable, though Baltimore clearly has missed on a pair of first-rounders in D.L Hall and Grayson Rodriguez – despite Ross’ opinion that the Orioles have failed to use them correctly . General manager Mike Elias keep saying he’s waiting for the market to play out before making a man.
BUY AND SELL (2025)
After the Rays wrapped up a minor comeback in June, they. 500 and has them hanging around the edges of a postseason race in the AL. Hence one of president of baseball operations Erik Neander’s favorite refrains, that the goal is to get in (the postseason) as often as they can, so it shouldn’t be — though based on moves of recent years most likely won’t. However, the Rays have shown that when not in position to win a division title, they tend to approach the Deadline with more deliberation. What does that mean? Rays could take advantage of seller’s market by trading away pricey veterans who still produce, such as Zach Eflin Brandon Lowe? Isaac Paredes? — within the expected win-now sense for 2021 while reshaping their roster to be in an even better spot next year. — Adam Berry
Pick a lane: Buyers — Red Sox
Two Trade Deadlines in Bloom’s regime as the chief baseball officer of the Red Sox, one item for which he was criticized is hedging on whether to buy or sell at a key point like this. Craig Breslow said he will be more absolute in choosing a lane. And if the Red Sox continue to roll as they have of late, that path will likely be a lane toward acquiring talent. The Red Sox need a starting pitcher, just as they do a righty setup reliever and ideally an additional big bat to enhance the roster for its final two months. “Frankly, I think this is a team that has put themselves in the position to be taken seriously,” Breslow said on NESN recently. We have to be looking at long-term opportunities for us “to develop the club. — Ian Browne
Yankees: Help wanted
The Yankees have a billion problems and fixing all of them in one Trade Deadline will be impossible, but rest assured that they are definitely going to try! After all, isn’t this their only year with Juan Soto under contract? They already had to some extent before their June swoon, even though the bullpen was one of those more significant needs. Instead, it is an issue of need, and the Yankees were readying to strike for one or even two relievers. Injuries have also bitten the rotation, with underperformance and injury issues leaving New York again in need of potentially making a deal for an arm.
AL Central
Guardians: Buy
Perhaps Cleveland needs to antes up out of the bullpen, and frankly not too many Major League-ready pieces with any value would be moved in a trade by this club otherwise. The Guardians will have to act on a legitimate prospect package in return for something along the lines of an adequate starting pitcher that could help their Major League rotation or maybe bring another impact bat (hopefully one ready for right field, perhaps shortstop) immediately. Already this club has raised some eyebrows by taking the best record in the American League into an All-Star break. This is something it does not want to ruin the potential for competition. — Mandy Bell
Royals: Buy with 2025 in mind
Kansas City, in fact have already begun implementing this when they traded third baseman prospect Cayden Wallace and the 39th overall pick in next year’s draft for reliever Hunter Harvey last week (who is under club control through at least ’25). That’s the going rate for a shutdown reliever under team control and it perfectly matches what they were seeking, as Harvey possesses that high-octane arm with an elite 26.3% strikeout-to-walk ratio across his time this season . It upgrades their biggest Deadline need: a bullpen the Royals now believe is much better after this trade. But that doesn’t mean they won’t continue to look for an upgrade. They still will search for pitching then. While they could use some position player depth, a versatile one would be more ideal. On each and every potential deal, the Royals will attempt to keep this year’s team competitive but also competitve in perhaps 2017 or into future years because they feel their championship window is only now cracking.
Tigers: Sell
While the Tigers are only a good stretch or two away from actually getting into the AL Wild Card conversation, and sneaky close to. 500, they have a handful of veterans in the final year without future deals ahead that might bring back more talent should Detroit solidify its course for tomorrow. Flaherty is one of the best starters on this year’s orthopedic challenged free agent market, and Detroit could keep him or QO him for a score pick back if he can prove his two injections in the late season have done anything to settle down his maladies. Who Will Kelly be Traded for?Kelly should appeal to the right contender as a platoon or backup catcher. Of course, Mark Canha could factor into that mix if he can come back healthy and productive at the dish. No surprise but the Tigers will draw interest for their relief pitchers.
Twins buy, maybe not aggressively
Having dealt away so many good young players, and with the revenue question mark of another off-season upon us next year, would they be aggressive again? There’s always a need for rotation assistance, but they don’t like rental starters and there technically is not an opening on the 2021 staff. The offense has been among MLB’s best already despite missing Royce Lewis for huge chunks, and with two of our top five hitters significantly under-performing their projections. Plus Brock Stewart and Justin Topa (and maybe Louie Varland) were getting right on the doorstep back to Milwaukee…. — Do-Hyoung Park
White Sox: Move, move and even more moves
Chris Getz has made this abundantly clear since assuming the vice president of player development duties for White Sox: with few exception, everyone on his team is available in the nascent stages of a rebuild and what arrives as compensation will be aimed at improving future products. That list could comprise lefty All-Star starter Garrett Crochet, five-tool outfielder Luis Robert Jr., right-handed starting pitcher Erick Fedde, closer Michael Kopech or even veteran outfielding standout Tommy Pham and first baseman Andrew Vaughn. Crochet, currently the best starting pitcher on offer in baseball this season; and Robert Jr., who has two $20 million options before free agency after ‘24. Except in those instances that “high ask” is the SHALlGST AL WST
Angels: Sell
Angels: The Angels are in full sell mode, as they get set to #ReclaimTheWest and will likely deal more of their veterans before the July 30 Trade Deadline than anyone else. There’s another option in closer Carlos Estévez, who is scheduled to hit free agency after the 2022 season and has been pitching well lately as a starter. That could mean trading veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar and any of the team’s veteran relievers, including Hunter Strickland, Luis García or Matt Moore as well. All-Star lefty Tyler Anderson, LF Taylor Ward and INF Luis Rengifo should pose a more difficult decision for the Angels since all three are under contract beyond 2021 However, if the Angels were able to get a deal that they liked, adding some prospects onto their youth movement might even make sense. — Rhett Bollinger
Astros: Need Arms Desperately
The Astros are desperate for starting pitching, with Justin Verlander, Cristian Javier and José Urquidy all on the injured list and Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia (sore right hand) and J.P. Fayne out for the year. [Update: The setback McCuller had reported earlier today.] They certainly do not want to surrender top prospects, nevertheless they should be able to acquire an arm capable of eating some innings in the second half and taking pressure off young starters Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti. The Astros would also like to augment their offense, ideally with someone who can play first base. The only hiccup comes from needing a starting pitcher.
Athletics: Picky sellers
Given most predictions, everyone writes the A’s off as an in-flux team that is obviously unloading closer Mason Miller and power hitter Brent Rooker. However, both players are still under team control for at least the next few years so theres no strict deadline in play within As front office to move either by this seasons trade Deadline. Yes, the A’s could be willing to listen on trade offers for them, but it would probably cost a decent bundle of high-ranked prospects to get Miller or Rooker from Oakland. — Martín Gallegos
Mariners: Load up on big hitters
Less than two weeks to go, and there’s all this uncertainty about how aggressive the Mariners will be in supplementing a roster that carried them to playoff contention pretty much from wire-to-wire but still has clear holes. They’ll add a bat, or two. And they also appear to be involved with the few aircraft carriers — Pete Alonso, Luis Robert Jr., and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – but whether any of that top talent will truly even available is an open question as well. They also have the necessary prospect capital ability to match anyone else with these free agents. General manager Jerry Dipoto, the president of baseball operations, hasn’t announced any kind of plan publicly this year — a lack of transparency that was intentional. It all makes the Mariners one of the most interesting teams to watch leading up to the Deadline. — Daniel Kramer
Rangers: Lightly sell
Five games behind in the AL West standings But it’s probably savvy for the front office to choose one direction and make a decision fairly soon. They’ll probably just stand pat and try to win the division with the unit they have, but you can’t totally ignore trading some of their veteran guys on expiring deals in relievers like Kirby Yates or David Robertson; those who tossed recently returned Michael Lorenzen (pictured) plus Andrew Heaney. Even so, the clubhouse has never lacked for confidence in its ability to win with some regularity. It might be mid-September before the three-way race at the top of AL West is sorted out. They have to do be making a choice very soon. ey will stay with the team.
