Kuzul

As the MLB trade deadline is quickly approaching, we have a greater idea of which teams will be buyers and which will be sellers.

One of the biggest commodities during the trade deadline will be starting pitching.

No team can have enough pitching and with all six divisions being decided by six games or less, the races are closer than ever.

A good starting pitcher can mean the difference between a team ending its season in disappointment and a team reaching the playoffs. 

Besides Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt, two of the more interesting pitching options on the market are Jake Westbrook of the Cleveland Indians and Ben Sheets of the Oakland Athletics.

Both of these pitchers have the talent to be a second or third starter and will cost considerably less than Lee or Oswalt.

It is very likely that both of these pitchers will land in the National League East.

The Mets, Braves, and Phillies are all in a tight playoff race and all three teams lack depth in their starting rotations.

If I had to guess, I would predict Ben Sheets will end up in New York and Jake Westbrook will have a new home in Philadelphia.

The Mets expressed interest in Ben Sheets during the off-season and he could provide the team some much needed pitching depth.

It is unlikely R.A Dickey and Hinsori Takahashi will continue their hot starts while John Maine and John Niese are still injury risks.

Signing Ben Sheets would give the Mets a pitcher with great raw talent.

The Mets realized Sheets isn’t a polished pitcher but his potential down the stretch, combined with his recent successes, will make him a viable option for New York.

Ever since losing J.A. Happ to an early season injury, the Phillies have been looking for pitching help.

The team has recently contacted Pedro Martinez about returning for the second half of the year.

Although Pedro Martinez has plenty of playoff experience,he does not have a great deal of velocity. I question his ability to pitch quality starts week after week without breaking down.

For the right price, Pedro may be worth a chance but Jake Westbrook is a much safer bet for the team.

Westbrook has a career ERA under four and is less of an injury risk.

The reason why I don’t see the Braves landing Westbrook or Sheets is because I think they are the front runners to land Cliff Lee.

Unlike the Mets and Phillies, the Braves lack a number one starting pitcher (the Mets have Johan Santana and the Phillies have Roy Halladay). Cliff Lee can be that answer.

Lee pitched brilliantly last year in the playoffs and would provide the relatively young Atlanta Braves roster with some much needed postseason experience.

Although Roy Oswalt is a likely target for all three of these teams, it is doubtful any of them will get the Astros hurler.

Oswalt is a long-term commitment, unlike the aforementioned three starters and has a no trade clause.

This combination of factors will most likely not land him in the National League East.

It will be interesting to see how the NL East shapes up in the next few weeks.

It will be a tight race until the end and all three contenders will look to the pitching market to gain a competitive advantage.

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In the next few weeks, Major League Baseball will embark in trade frenzy. Every team must quickly decide whether they are a buyer or seller.

Do they have a chance to compete this year? Is it better to hold the pieces for a run next year? Should they sell any valuable assets to rebuild for years to come?

It is not easy for a general manager to make these decisions. As much as the team is concerned with on-field performance, it must also consider revenue and profit, and may have to dump larger contracts to be in the green.

The next slides will take a look at all sixteen NL teams (by division) and evaluate whether they are buyers, holders, or sellers, along with some potential targets.

Let’s Begin

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In the next few weeks, Major League Baseball will embark in trade frenzy. Every team must quickly decide whether they are a buyer or seller.

Do they have a chance to compete this year? Is it better to hold the pieces for a run next year? Should they sell any valuable assets to rebuild for years to come?

It is not easy for a general manager to make these decisions. As much as the team is concerned with on-field performance, it must also consider revenue and profit, and may have to dump larger contracts to be in the green.

The next fourteen slides will take a look at all thirty teams (by division) and evaluate whether they are buyers, holders, or sellers, along with some potential targets.

Let’s Begin

Begin Slideshow

The New York Mets have been perhaps the most volatile team so far this season.

They have shown flashes of World Series quality baseball, by winning eight games in a row in April, and have struggled miserably at other times, losing nine of 11 games in mid-may.

As much as the Mets season has been a roller coaster ride, the hype surrounding Jerry Manuel has been just as crazy.

When the team has been playing badly, Manuel has received a lot of criticism and a lot of Mets fans have been calling for his firing.

This week, Jerry Manuel made a strong case for why he should continue to be manager—the team is starting to come into shape and has momentum leading into their series with the Philadelphia Phillies.

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In 2007, David Wright had one of the best seasons in Mets history, hitting .325 with 30 HRs, 107 RBI, and 34 steals. That season, Wright only had 115 strikeouts in 160 games (an average of 0.72 a game).

Fast-forward two-and-a-half years later to the 2010 season.

In 40 games, Wright has accumulated 55 strikeouts (1.38 a game), and has batted only .262.

It seems apparent that David Wright is not the player he used to be.

In 2004, the future of the Mets was revealed when David Wright and Jose Reyes were called up to the big leagues.

Both players had tremendous upside, and fans were looking forward to numerous World Series titles.

Six years later, both players have matured, but there have been no World Series titles. The closest the team came in the Wright-Reyes era was in 2006, when the team was one win away from reaching the World Series (thanks Adam Wainwright).

It’s not fair to blame the recent Mets woes completely on David Wright.

This season, the Mets have batted a dismal .246 and have an on-base percentage (OBP) of .318, one of the lowest in the league.

Many star players, such as Jason Bay, Jose Reyes, and Jeff Francoeur have not reached their potential so far this season.

The best hitter on the Mets so far is probably Rod Barajas, the team’s starting catcher. Barajas has a team-best nine HRs and only 16 strikeouts (compared to Wright’s 55).

Another telling stat of Wright’s decline is his wins above replacement (WAR).

WAR is a statistic that determines how much better that player is compared to a replacement player on the bench.

In the 2007 season, Wright’s WAR rating was 8.6, one of the highest in baseball. This season, Wright’s WAR has dropped all the way to 1.4.

In other words, Wright simply isn’t as important to the team as he used to be.

The 2010 season has been marked with many ups and downs for the Mets. After the team started the season 2-6, Jerry Manuel was on the hot seat. Eventually his seat cooled as the team won eight games in a row at the end of April.

Now, Manuel’s seat has begun to warm up again.

In their last 10 games, the Mets are 2-8.

Oliver Perez, the team’s fourth starter, has lost his control, Wright and Bay can’t seem to find their power, and Jon Niese, the team’s fifth starter, may go on the disabled list for four to six weeks.

Unless the team goes on another hot streak, this season may be coming to a close as early as late July.

As a die hard Mets fan, Wright has always been one of my favorite players. He is a caring, charismatic guy with a strong work ethic and great morals.

Fans love Wright for his work on and off the field, and it would be hard for the team to trade such a face of the franchise. Wright fills seats at Citi Field (attendance is down 17 percent this season, but that is a different story) and sells thousands of jerseys and shirts.

The Mets may listen more than ever about possible David Wright trades, but it will be nearly impossible for the team to pull the trigger.

One of the best suitors for Wright may be the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox have had hitting woes all season and can really use a young dynamic hitter. Wright is only 27 years old, and there is still plenty of time for him to regain his power.

The Red Sox have a bunch of older hitters (think David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis), and Wright would mesh well with Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, and Jed Lowrie.

The Mets desperately need young pitchers, something which the Red Sox have plenty of, and could receive Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard for Wright.

It may not be the sexiest thing to do, but a rebuilding season could really benefit the Mets. As much as I hate to say it, this may be the Wright time for David to be traded.

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