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With just over three quarters of the MLB season complete, it is a good time to take a look at some records that are on the verge of being broken during the rest of the 2014 campaign.

True, the marks we are going to discuss don’t necessarily carry legendary weight. No one is on the precipice of breaking Barry Bonds’ single-season home run record, for example, or of topping the 233 strikeouts Mark Reynolds amassed in 2009.

These will be a bit more obscure.

Some are MLB records, and others are franchise specific. Some of them are achievements that a player will be happy to be remembered for, while others speak to the changing landscape of professional baseball.

Here are seven records that could fall during the rest of the 2014 season.

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As the end of August approaches, clubs looking to bolster their MLB rosters in advance of a playoff run will need to pull off waiver trades in the next 11 days if they want the new addition to be eligible for postseason play.

The immediacy of the situation cannot be overstated. It also leads to a question: What types of trade ideas are possible with the information we already have at hand?

Here are three MLB trade scenarios based on actual need and published rumors through the end of Monday, Aug. 11. As a standard note, the following proposals are nothing more than postulation.

The point here is to build a trade based on someone else’s written or spoken word. They are balanced deals that are fair for each team, though, and take into consideration each franchise’s strengths and weaknesses.

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The July 31 MLB non-waiver trade deadline is in the past, meaning that clubs can only improve their rosters through an August waiver trade. That severely limits the options on both sides of the equation.

And while the waiver wire is littered with players of all talent levels, what are the odds that the biggest names to have cleared waivers will actually end up switching teams?

That is exactly what we are here to examine.

To be sure, no one here at Bleacher Report is an MLB general manager. In other words, placing odds on the likelihood that a player who has cleared waivers will be traded is an arbitrary process.

Another thing that makes this a less-than-scientific endeavor is that MLB general managers are not required to make public the players they place on waivers. It happens all of the time without being mentioned on the national stage.

That does not mean, however, that various factors, including production, contract status, need around the game and other variables can’t be examined, leading to a fair assessment of the chances of a trade going down in the next two weeks.

We will use the published reports of several well-known sportswriters as sources. That means that there could be other players out there who are not listed, but this is a fairly accurate list of the star power on the market that can switch teams at any moment.

Here are the chances of each big name to have cleared waivers being traded before the August 31 deadline.

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The July 31 MLB non-waiver trade deadline was almost two weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of rumors and ample speculation regarding possible trade scenarios.

It’s just that moving forward, clubs will look to improve their playoff chances by pulling off an August waiver trade. For an explanation of the process, see this post by Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter.

For the sake of brevity, though, we will keep it simple.

Here are three MLB trade scenarios based on actual need and published rumors through the end of Monday, Aug. 11. As a standard note, the following proposals are nothing more than postulation.

The point here is to build a trade based on someone else’s written or spoken word. They are balanced deals that are fair for each team, though, and take into consideration each franchise’s strengths and weaknesses.

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The 2014 MLB season keeps trucking along.

Just over a week removed from the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline and the corresponding intrigue, a new set of storylines has emerged.

Tony Bosch is back in the news, surrendering to the DEA for conspiracy to distribute steroids. And with his arrest comes a request from MLB for a new set of names. If granted, the repercussions could have an impact on the playoff race.

For more on the story, you can check out this thread from Bleacher Report’s Tim Daniels.

The August waiver period is also upon us. And with it comes the intrigue of clubs trying to improve their roster or prevent other teams in the playoff race from getting better by placing a claim on a player before their rivals can.

But as important as those storylines are, there is another one developing in the wild-card race.

As of game time Friday, there were three teams that were a half-game behind the Kansas City Royals for the second wild-card spot in the American League. In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants are separated by less than one game for both wild cards.

As it stands, there are a total of 10 teams that are within five games of playing in the postseason, meaning there is a legitimate chance for a one-game playoff in each league. It is quite remarkable.

So, which of the contenders are the most dangerous in a game where the loser goes home for the winter?

Here are the five wild-card contenders that no team wants to face in a one-game playoff. Before getting started, though, let’s take a look at why this list is only five teams long.

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The 2014 MLB season has given us plenty of interesting storylines.

Chicago White Sox rookie Jose Abreu is filling up the stat sheet on a nightly basis. New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka took the American League by storm before landing on the disabled list.

Multiple clubs, including the Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks, fell victim to a rash of injuries that largely ended their seasons before they had a chance to get started. And who can forget the action that went down at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline?

There are many more, of course, but a larger point remains: Major League Baseball is as intriguing as ever.

And it’s not over.

The final weeks of the season produce their own set of talking points as teams fight for a division title or a wild-card spot.

So what are the biggest storylines of the pennant race? And who are some of the most important X-factors on contending ballclubs?

Let’s take a look.

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The July 31 MLB non-waiver trade deadline began with a bang and ended with an explosion.

That is the only way to sum up the excitement that started with the Oakland A’s acquiring Jon Lester and culminated with the trade that sent David Price to the Detroit Tigers. Of course, that wasn’t the last trade of the day, but it was the biggest one as the action drew to a close.

Moving forward, clubs will look to improve their rosters by facilitating an August waiver trade. It is a complex dance that can produce blockbusters and duds.

For an explanation of the process, see this post by Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter. For the sake of brevity, though, we will keep it simple.

Here are three MLB trade scenarios based on actual need and published rumors through the end of Monday, August 4. As a standard note, the following proposals are nothing more than postulation.

The point here is to build a trade based on someone else’s written or spoken word. They are balanced deals that are fair for each team, though, and take into consideration each franchise’s strengths and weaknesses.  

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Just over two days remain until the July 31 MLB non-waiver trade deadline.

In other words, information and innuendo are going to start flying at a rapid rate across various information channels. And at this time of year, MLB fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

So let’s take a look at some of the bigger names that are presumably on the trade block.

For the sake of brevity, we will keep it simple. Here are three MLB trade scenarios based on actual need and published rumors through the end of Monday, July 28. 

As a standard note, the following proposals are nothing more than postulation. The point here is to build a trade based on someone else’s written or spoken word.

They are balanced deals that are fair for each team, though, and take into consideration each franchise’s strengths and weaknesses.  

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Nine days until the July 31 MLB non-waiver trade deadline.

That means that Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has approximately 216 hours to decide if he wants to cash in several large trade chips. He could wait until after July 31, of course, but then he risks limiting his leverage by a considerable margin.

Amaro Jr. is not alone. There are plenty of other GMs around MLB who don’t have much longer to decide whether or not they will dump stock or add to their portfolios.

So let’s take a look at some of the bigger names that are presumably on the trade block.

For the sake of brevity, we will keep it simple. Here are three MLB trade scenarios based on actual need and published rumors from the week ending Sunday, July 13. 

As a standard note, the following proposals are nothing more than postulation. The point here is to build a trade based on someone else’s written or spoken word.

They are balanced deals that are fair for each team, though, and take into consideration each franchise’s strengths and weaknesses.  

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With less than four weeks remaining until the MLB July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, the action around the league is starting to pick up.

First, the Chicago Cubs sent starting pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the Oakland A’s for a package that included Addison Russell, Billy McKinney and Dan Straily. Then, relief pitcher Joe Thatcher and outfielder Tony Campana were acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks by the Los Angeles Angels for minor league pitcher Joey Krehbiel and outfielder Zach Borenstein.

In other words, the stakes in the American League West were raised. But what about the other players rumored to be available?

Here are four MLB trade scenarios based on actual need and published rumors from the week ending Sunday, July 6. 

As a standard note, the following proposals are nothing more than postulation. The point here is to build a trade based on someone else’s written or spoken word.

They are balanced deals that are fair for each team, though, and take into consideration each franchise’s strengths and weaknesses. 

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