After the Chicago Cubs landed a blockbuster deal to acquire hard-throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman from the New York Yankees, the rest of the MLB’s playoff contenders have begun scheming to bolster their respective rosters as well.
Let’s take a look at five teams that could very well make a shrewd move or two before the trade deadline on August 1st. Afterwards, head on over here for a listing of players that will likely find a new home by next month.
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Top Five MLB Teams with the Biggest Needs before the 2016 Trade Deadline
*listed in alphabetical order
Baltimore Orioles
While the Baltimore Orioles have held the top spot of the AL East standings for quite some time now, the division race is still as hotly-contested as ever. Only six-and-a-half games separate the Orioles from the fourth-place Yankees as of this writing, with the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays also currently holding the top two spots in the AL Wild Card standings.
Baltimore surely has the firepower to go deep in the playoffs (an MLB-best 150 home runs), but the team’s starting rotation, which has a dismal 4.94 collective ERA, is of grave concern. Only Chris Tillman has 14 wins for the season, which is exactly the same number of winning starts from Baltimore’s four other starting pitchers – Ubaldo Jimenez, Kevin Gausman, Yovani Gallardo and Tyler Wilson – combined.
Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale may be too costly for the O’s at this time, but you can still expect them to nab a quality starter to support their playoff and division-title push.
Cleveland Indians
Since joining the team in 2013, manager Terry Francona has led the Cleveland Indians to winning seasons, all the while avoiding the basement of the AL Central at that. 2016 might certainly be the city of Cleveland’s year, as the Tribe are in pretty good shape to win a division pennant for the first time since 2007; mostly thanks to a sensational 14-game win streak that eerily began right after the Cleveland Cavaliers’ own championship-winning run.
Even though the Indians have the best pitching roster in the American League – tops in ERA (3.65), complete games (five) shutouts (seven) – they also need a solid hitter or two for better run support, especially with outfielder Michael Brantley still nursing a shoulder injury. Look for Cleveland to add someone like the New York Yankees’ veteran slugger Carlos Beltran as a viable rental for its best postseason bid in ages.
Miami Marlins
Right now, the Miami Marlins own the league’s shameful distinction of having the longest playoff drought, which dates back to their World Series-winning run back in 2003. Yet surprisingly, the team is right in the thick of the wild card race and could also very well challenge the Washington Nationals for the top spot of the NL East.
The Marlins’ most-glaring problem, as with most of the teams listed here, is pitching depth. With Wei-Yin Chen out with an injured elbow and with no other reliable starter in the rotation apart from Jose Fernandez, Miami will likely be in the market for another big arm at a reasonable price. Rumors have it that the team is eyeing Jeremy Hellickson of the Philadelphia Phillies, which would be a huge get for the team as it attempts to finally end postseason-less skid.
San Francisco Giants
Much of the San Francisco Giants’ even-year magic had sputtered after the All-Star break, as they’ve gone a miserable 2-9 after the mid-season festivities from San Diego to put their stranglehold on the NL West in serious danger.
The Giants have been known as a team that has stellar pitching in a pitcher-friendly park. But that doesn’t appear to be the case of late, particularly in the relief department, as the team’s 18 blown saves is the worst mark in the NL and second-worst in the entire league.
San Francisco lucked out on the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes, but there are still a couple of steady closers that the team could make a deal for before the end of the month. Expect the names of Jeanmar Gomez (Philadelphia) and Jeremy Jeffress (Milwaukee) to come up in conversations about a possible move to the Bay Area.
Texas Rangers
With the Houston Astros making a late resurgence, it seems as if the Texas Rangers will not run away with the AL West title after all. Making matters worse for the Rangers is that they now have pressing needs on both sides of the ball; Prince Fielder’s about to undergo a season-ending neck injury, and the return of Yu Darvish to the starting rotation has done little to improve their pitching situation.
Texas would likely want to focus on getting some offense with the loss of Fielder first. The team’s thinnest position is at catcher (Robinson Chirinos or Bobby Wilson, anyone?), and Milwaukee’s Jonathan Lucroy is a big name that the Rangers could land as they aim to secure their third division title since 2010.
