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The 2014 MLB trade deadline is still two months away, but it’s never too early to get the rumor mill churning. There is still a lot of baseball to be played, as most teams have not yet established themselves as buyers or sellers. But we can already start to paint a picture of who will be available at the July 31 non-waiver deadline.

Upcoming free agents playing for noncontenders are obviously the most likely candidates to find themselves on the block. We’ll also turn our attention to the farm systems of clubs that look like clear-cut contenders here in May.

This is obviously subject to change in the weeks and months ahead, but here is a preliminary look at which player each team’s top chip could be when trade season rolls around.

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference, unless otherwise noted. All injury information courtesy of MLBDepthCharts team pages.

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The first month of the baseball season is officially over, which means it’s time to dish out grades for all 30 MLB teams. In the report cards that follow, each team is graded on four categories: offense, rotation, bullpen and overall.

The overall grade takes into account the previous three categories. However, in certain cases, it’s no easy task to arrive at a final letter grade—especially when teams score particularly high in one section and particularly low in another.

In general, the rotation grade carries the most weight. However, whether a team met preseason expectations also factored into the equation.

Now, let’s take a look at the report cards for all 30 MLB teams.

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Those with a vested interest in such things surely never actually expect spring training to go according to plan. That’s just not how spring training rolls.

But hope that things go according to plan? Oh yeah, there are most definitely hopes that maybe, just maybe spring training will go just…perfectly.

We’re here to play along with the idea by asking: What would constitute a perfect spring training for all 30 teams in Major League Baseball? Since these are the things that matter the most, we’re going to proceed with a template that addresses the following:

• (Player A) will look healthy
• (Player B) will tease a rebound
• (Player C) will tease a breakout
• (Prospect D) will look ready for The Show
• (New addition E) will live up to his billing

There will be some cases when two players belong to a certain category, but other than that, well, that’s the template. We can proceed…now.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted/linked.

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While it’s true that not all teams are equal, whether it be from the perspective of finances or talent—both on the major league roster and in the minor leagues—every team has the ability to make a move.

It’s an ongoing battle, and kind of a crap shoot, to determine if a player available via free agency or trade is a better fit, a better option, than what a team currently has.

The temptation of making a move can be overpowering and unrelenting.

In some cases, resistance is futile.

In others, resistance can save a team from making a major mistake, one that ultimately hinders the team’s ultimate goal of contending for a World Series title.

Let’s take a look at moves that thus far, general managers have been able to resist this winter.

Rick Weiner is a Featured Columnist covering all of MLB.

Follow @RickWeinerBR

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The MLB free agency class of 2013 features dozens of players with varying degrees of skill. Thus far, however, only a handful of those available have been signed.

That could change as soon as next week.

With the MLB annual winter meetings set to begin in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, teams will indeed be on the hunt for players that can address their needs.

Owners, general managers and many other team officials will be on hand, as well as the agents of players left on the open market. Opportunities will be aplenty as each team attempts to fill each available roster spots with the best possible choice.

We will take a look at each team as currently constituted and attempt to identify their biggest need. We will also offer up suggestions as to who may be the best logical candidate to fill that need.

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