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It remains to be seen if the activity before this year’s MLB trade deadline will contain dramatic shifts of talent around the league. In a season where a lot of teams have remained within sniffing distance of a wild-card berth, there may not be many sellers on the market. 

But the teams in the hunt will still attempt to work out whatever big moves they can. 

New York Mets

One of this year’s surprise teams, the Mets started the second half just two games behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East and in position to make a serious run for the second wild-card spot. They’ve accomplished this on the strength of their pitching and despite injuries to top offensive contributors David Wright, Travis d’Arnaud and Daniel Murphy.

In the first half of 2015, the Mets put up a staggeringly horrible slash line of .233/.298/.363. In fact, their offensive numbers rank at the bottom of the National League across the board:

It’s remarkable that the Mets have won so often this year while hitting so poorly. Give them a bat or two, and it would be interesting to see what they could do. 

Newsday’s Marc Craig wrote on July 16 that sources have told him the Mets are “not ruling out a trade for an outfielder.” New York could use help everywhere, but the outfield is a good enough place to begin.

The Mets’ outfield production has been wretched for a team with playoff aspirations:

General manager Sandy Alderson has never been an executive who is shy about opening up a checkbook, so with the Mets suddenly relevant and in the thick of things ahead of schedule, I would not be shocked to see him go in big on any decent bats that become available, regardless of where he would end up needing to make room for it. 

Los Angeles Angels

A late first-half surge brought the Angels to the top of the AL West heading into the All-Star break. The Angels had gone 7-3 in their last 10 prior to the All-Star Game, while the Houston Astros were scuffling at 2-8, allowing the Halos to tie them in the standings.

A team anchored by Mike Trout and Albert Pujols has been built with the intention of winning right now. According to the L.A. Times‘ Mike DiGiovanna, the Angels are looking to muscle up even more, adding another bat:

Mike Trout is the second coming of Mickey Mantle in center field, but at the corners, Kole Calhoun is merely dependable (.265/.320/.407) and Matt Joyce is an open wound (.190/.281/.319) with twice as many strikeouts as walks.

The Angels are a team with a shot to win it all this year, next year and for the next several years if they handle their roster correctly. They could potentially add either a second-half rental or even a player who might require a multiyear commitment.  

Cole Hamels

No player is garnering as much attention nor is the source of as much speculation as Philadelphia Phillies ace Cole Hamels. One team that seems like a potential destination for him is the Texas Rangers. 

It would offer him a chance at pitching in the American League, and the Rangers could use an arm. Pitching was supposed to be a strength for the Rangers, but Yu Darvish has been lost for the season to injury and the rest of the rotation, with the possible exception of Yovani Gollardo, has been at least somewhat on the disappointing side of mediocre this year:

Hamels’ arm would obviously bolster the Rangers’ rotation instantly, and given the 31-year-old pitcher’s resume as a top-of-the-roation talent, he’d be an investment in the future. Aside from the dismal campaign they turned in last season, the Rangers have been consistent contenders in recent years. 

However, he may not be an investment they are interested in making. According to a source for T.R. Sullivan on MLB.com, the Rangers don’t like the structure of Hamel’s contract or the asking price. 

With few sellers on the market this year, the action could be generally slowed down by the fact that teams that are looking to trade are looking to load up heavy with prospects in return. 

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July is the month when the tension starts to ratchet up in the daily drama of big league baseball. The approaching trade deadline is an important notch in the season-long arc. The teams who are in it to win it collect whatever extra weapons and spare parts they can garner, while the also-rans pack up and start talking about next year.  

Cubs Looking For Arms

With the Chicago Cubs suddenly finding themselves ahead of schedule in their rebuilding plan, the perennial underdogs may be gearing to make a run for this year’s wild card while also improving for next year. Fox Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi reported on Sunday that most of the Cubs’ trade discussions have centered around adding pitchers, preferably ones who offers something for the future:

The Cubs would prefer to trade for a starting pitcher whom they would control beyond this year, because they lack major-league-ready starters in the upper levels of their system. If they’re going to play on a big name, Cole Hamels (signed to a long-term contract) makes more sense than Johnny Cueto (pending free agent).

Clay Buchholz and Jeff Samardzija Could Be Available

More teams than not are looking for arms at this point in the season, and there should be some talent available. In the June 28 Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo listed both the Boston Red Sox’s Clay Buchholz and the Chicago White Sox’s Jeff Samardzija as potentially on the block. 

With the Red Sox hovering at around six games back in a weak division, they may not be quite ready to throw in the towel and retool. But if they don’t start hot after the All-Star break, it might be time to shop Buchholz if they can get value for him in return. 

Buchholz has had a good season for a disappointing team. He’s struck out just over four batters for every one he has walked. His WHIP is just 1.19 and his ERA 3.27.

If the Cubs were to go across town and trade for Samardzija, they would be picking up a hurler with potential but one who has struggled this year. Samardzija has led the league in hits allowed, though his control has remained good. 

As the current project of former front office prodigy Theo Epstein, the Cubs are playing for beyond this season and hope to build  a solid franchise that will contend yearly for the post season. Slotting in a pitcher with Buchholz‘s experience and talent some place in the middle of a rotation would make the Cubs stronger immediately. 

Buchholz is due to collect $13,000,000 for the next two seasons. It works out to fair value for a playoff team, if he continues to contribute to his current level. 

Giants Trolling For Offense

While the Cubs have been chasing arms, it sounds like the San Francisco Giants are aiming to add a bat for the stretch. Sunday evening, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted:

The Giants have been able to stay above .500 this year—within striking distance of the wild card—and if they can bolster their offense, their pitching should make them competitive against a lot of teams in a short series. 

Cameron Maybin has been a pleasant surprise for the Atlanta Braves this year, and as Olney himself tweeted, Atlanta is probably not going to trade him on the cheap:

Gerardo Parra might have a bit more pop in his bat than Maybin anyway, and with the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2015 season already a runaway train wreck, he might be easier to pick up. 

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When leaving the New England Patriots, Bill Parcells famously complained that he didn’t want to “cook the dinner” if he couldn’t “shop for some of the groceries.” For the managers of the MLB All-Star Game, the situation is a bit like those cooking competitions on television, where the ingredients are a random grab bag selected by somebody else. 

While some of the ingredients might be sublime and blend together perfectly, there’s always the chance of receiving some obscure and exotic ingredients that seems little more than rancid lard. 

But when it comes to filling out the roster and nailing down the all-important pitching staff, the managers get the chance to go back to the pantry and pick out their own ingredients to salvage the overall dish. 

I personally find the entire aspect of having the game determine home-field advantage in the World Series, so that it will “mean something,” atrocious. However, I do think Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost and San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy will be motivated to fill out the roster as intelligently as possible. This is because each team enters the midway point positioned to make a second-half run for a repeat appearance in the Fall Classic. 

That’s why my first prediction for a “surprise” selection is Brock Holt of the Boston Red Sox. As a Sox fan since the 1977 season, this year has been a disappointment. The performance of super utility man Holt has been a rare pleasure. 

Holt would have to be regarded as a surprise selection, due to the fact that he’s technically not even a starter. He’s remained a near-daily fixture in the lineup for the struggling Red Sox while playing everywhere on the field except pitcher and catcher. 

And he’s managed to be one of the few productive bats in the lineup, even as he’s dealt with the uncertainty of knowing where he will play. He’s batting nearly .300 while turning in an on-base percentage of .386 and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .819. 

I’d like to see the Red Sox let him settle into a regular starting position in the second half and allow him to be an everyday player that can contribute solid numbers.

As a late-inning reserve in the All-Star Game, Holt would give Yost options while retaining a dangerous batting order. And since the Red Sox’s lineup has been so disappointing, he makes the decision of who to select an easier one. 

My other choice for a “surprise” selection kills me as a Red Sox fan, as I think former Sox’s shortstop Jose Iglesias has an outstanding chance to be selected by either his fellow players and/or Yost. He provides one of the year’s nicer comeback stories. 

Iglesias certainly looked like a potential star back in his days as a minor league prospect at the start of this decade. I first became aware of him when he was a defensive wizard for the Portland Sea Dogs in Double-A.

After missing all of last season with a stress fracture, Iglesias has rebounded so far in 2015 to the tune of a .320/.372/.382 line with nine stolen bases.

It’s always an advantage for a manager to have an exceptional defensive player on the bench late in a close game. 

Beyond that, the All-Star Game is the type of exhibition where fans thrill at seeing players make spectacular plays at the plate, on the basepaths and in the field. Iglesias is the kind of exciting player with the potential to do at least two of the three. 

Coming into 2015, it would have been tough to see Iglesias as a likely All-Star selection. But he makes a lot of sense now. 

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