MLB Trade Deadlines Approaches

July 31 will be the first of three trade deadlines for Major League baseball teams, the others being August 31 (trade deadline without having to clear waivers) and September 31 (post-season roster deadline), and with the amount of contenders still in the hunt for at least a wildcard spot at this point of the season, there promises to be an unprecedented amount of roster activity and front-office maneuvering in the weeks to come.

As the Oakland Athletics have shown since solidifying their 26-6 midseason run with the acquisitions of starter Joe Kennedy and outfielder Jay Payton, a little help can go a long way towards jump starting team chemistry and there are teams who could use a good kick right now.

There are a number of teams looking for help and who have extra parts to ship out in return. We can start with the Boston Red Sox, whose acquisitions of Tony Graffinio and Alex Cora over the past weeks have made Bill Mueller the odd man out in their infield.

Mueller is a quality third baseman who could be moving to the Minnesota Twins in return for some bullpen help. Jesse Crain, Juan Rincon, JC Romero and Kyle Lohse have all figured in trade possibilities, but the Red Sox have to like the left-handed Romero out of the ‘pen.

The Baltimore Orioles were the front-runner for pitchers Jason Schmidt and AJ Burnett, but their inability to close any deal has left the door open for the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees to pursue these top-notch starters as well. The Orioles have reached a tentative agreement with the San Diego Padres that would see Sidney Ponson go to the NL West division leaders in return for Phil Nevin, but it is likely that Nevin will block the trade, invoking his privilege as a player with ten years of big league experience and five years with the same team.

The Padres were free to move the first baseman/third baseman by acquiring third baseman Joe Randa from the Cincinnati Reds and by planning to move outfielder Xavier Nady to first.

The Yankees are coming off a stretch were they used 11 different starters over 20 games and the White Sox are not entirely confident with Jose Contreras as their number four starter. The Yankees are also in the market for an outfielder with Ruben Sierra on the DL and the Cincinnati Reds’ left-handed hitting Adam Dunn or Ken Griffey Junior would fit that role perfectly. Don’t be surprised, however, to see the Yanks settle for the Toronto Blue Jays’ Frank Cattalano if they can’t pull the trigger on Junior.

Other names that have been floated around by the Yanks have included Seattle Mariners’ Randy Winn and former Yankee and current Detroit Tigers’ outfielder Rondell White. The problems are that the New York scouts don’t see Winn as a centerfielder and White recently sustained a shoulder injury which would limit him to DH duty.

The Blue Jays also have veteran third baseman Corey Koskie coming back off the DL and at this point he is 4^th on the Jays’ depth chart at third behind Aaron Hill, all-star Shea Hillenbrand and primary first baseman Eric Hinske. Koskie is a guy whop some teams could use to solidify their corner situation.

The Chicago Cubs can expect to have Nomar Garciappara back in the starting lineup which would leave them free to move Nefi Perez for some bullpen or starting pitching help but, as the Washington Nationals have proved since the return of Jose Vidro, returning a guy who has missed the majority of the season and inserting him into the heat of a pennant race isn’t always a good thing. The Nats probably can’t wait for Junior Spivey to be able to get healthy once again himself and that would allow them to consider moving Vidro for possibly another pitcher or outfielder.

The New York Mets are looking for some help in the closer department as there seems to be little faith in Brandon Looper despite his 22 saves. Teams looking for closers like the Mets can count on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ Danys Baez or the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jose Mesa being available at extremely reasonable prices from teams who are effectively done for this season.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on Philadelphia Phillies’ first baseman Ryan Howard, who has played so well during his second big-league stint this year that if Jim Thome is healthy he is definite trade bait. As well the Pittsburgh Pirates have a kid named Brad Eldred who reminds scouts of a young Steve Balboni and would allow them to really move anyone in their starting lineup.

The most interesting part of the trade talk time of year is the speculation, but if the right teams can get the right pieces of the puzzle in place, then we could be looking at a mad dash to the finish. The way things are stacked evenly right now, this is the type of season where the front office can win or lose a pennant strictly by their ability to get a deal done.