Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is a little over a month away, and teams are beginning to assess needs and strategies to prepare for the buildup. Sellers are beginning to slowly, begrudgingly accept their fates, while buyers are identifying what they need and who could be available in the next month.
The sport’s likely contenders are beginning to separate themselves, but several of them have flaws that they’ll be looking to address via trades.
Here are five of those leading contenders, as well as the areas they’ll be looking to improve over the course of the next month.
1. Boston Red Sox – third base
The hope for the Red Sox at the start of the season was that Pablo Sandoval’s 2015 and 2016 seasons would be anomalies and that a new, fitter, and re-dedicated Sandoval would look more like the one that starred for the San Francisco Giants. That has not happened.
Sandoval hit just .212 with four home runs before landing on the disabled list, and his replacements have been even worse. On the whole, Boston’s third basemen have hit under .200 this season.
There are a few places the Red Sox could look to upgrade — the bullpen and another starting pitcher would be welcomed — but the black hole at third base is holding the team back. They’re probably not going to get a star — they tend to not be available midseason — but a name like David Freese or Mike Moustakas could come into play, at least if their teams elect to sell. Neither are stars, but both would represent a clear upgrade on what they’ve gotten from the position so far.
2. Chicago Cubs – starting pitching
The Chicago Cubs find themselves in a strange spot. The big problem that has led to their underwhelming season has more or less been a lack of offense, with no regular hitting anywhere near .300. In fact, Kyle Schwarber, expected to be a key contributor at the start of the season, was recently demoted to the minors. On top of that, Kris Bryant is nursing a sprained ankle. But the Cubs aren’t going to try to replace these guys — are Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell really going to be displaced by new acquisitions? No, they’re not.
The other solution, then, is to acquire another starting pitcher.
This is an odd need for a rotation that contains Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, John Lackey, and Kyle Hendricks, but Arrieta has been pitching hurt and underwhelming, Hendricks is on the DL, and Lackey just hasn’t been effective more often than not. The Cubs won in 2016 in large part because of their rotation, and it hasn’t been as good this year. They don’t need an ace, but a stabilizing presence would probably be a big help as they try to recapture some semblance of their 2016 form.
3. Houston Astros – starting pitching
The Astros are blitzing the rest of the American League and would seem to have everything, but a few tweaks could make them even better. The big issue is, ultimately, that they have two really reliable starting pitchers, and one, ace Dallas Keuchel, is currently in the midst of his second DL stint of the season.
Houston knows it, too.
Keuchel and Lance McCullers have been awesome, and Mike Fiers has stepped up to provide some solid innings as well. The rest of the rotation has been in flux, though, with injuries impacting the likes of Charlie Morton and other names like Joe Musgrove and David Paulino simply not being effective. The Astros have looked at Sonny Gray, and he would do a lot to shore up some of their rotation concerns.
If Houston is too reliant on Keuchel, it could prove to be their undoing, either because of a rare bad outing or because his recurring injury problems keep recurring. They need another steady option in that rotation. If they get one, they just might be the AL favorite.
4. New York Yankees – starting pitching
It’s a theme, as it always is. New York’s young offensive stars, led by Aaron Judge, have propelled the club back into contention a year after a trade deadline selloff. Now, the team looks poised to buy at the 2017 deadline, and there’s an obvious area that they’ll need to be targeting — much like several of their fellow contenders.
Luis Severino has been New York’s best pitcher over the course of the season, but he’s just 23, and the Yankees will surely want to avoid putting too much on his young shoulders and wearing him down. Michael Pineda continues to show flashes, but remains too inconsistent to be relied upon as a top option. CC Sabathia has been good, but turns 37 in July and is currently on the disabled list. Masahiro Tanaka’s ERA is close to 6 and the penciled-in ace has been one of the biggest disappointments in baseball in 2017.
The Yankees do need another starter, and probably a good one. They have the prospects to make it happen without putting too much of a dent in their big league roster, though it remains to be seen how aggressive they will be in their efforts.
5. Washington Nationals – bullpen
Washington’s struggles to close out ballgames are well-documented at this point. It’s so clear, in fact, that players have been anonymously venting to the media about ownership and the front office’s failures to do anything on that front yet. The Nationals are so desperate for bullpen help that they’ve taken a flier on Francisco Rodriguez, released by a Detroit Tigers team equally desperate for bullpen help after posting a 7.82 ERA and losing his closer’s job.
To state the obvious, Rodriguez is not the solution for the Nationals. Neither was Blake Treinen, nor Koda Glover, who is now on the disabled list. They’re simply going to have to make a deal.
David Robertson has been involved in trade rumors for almost a year now, and it seems a good bet that he’ll be on the move before July 31. Washington would be a perfect destination for him.
If the Nats can find someone who can reliably close out games, they’ll patch their last major issue, making themselves a hugely formidable foe once the playoffs kick off. What they have right now simply will not do it.
