Just over a week's time stands between us and Major League Baseball's Non-Waiver Trade Deadline. Many teams will look to improve their rosters as they prepare for a stretch run towards a hopeful playoff spot. But, which players on teams out of contention will fit best with contending ballclubs? Let's play "matchmaker" for a night and have a little fun looking into the future, and piece together trades and acquisitions that will works best for teams with their eyes on October.
Baltimore Orioles
Needs - Starting pitching, outfield depth
Solution - Andrew Cashner, Melvin Upton, Jr. (San Diego Padres)
We all know the Orioles can swing it with the best of them. Their offense speaks for itself on nearly a nightly basis. However, Baltimore's starting rotation is near the bottom of Major League Baseball in total innings pitched, which in turn means that their bullpen is near the top in innings logged. Come postseason time, bullpen innings are crucial. You want your best late-inning arms as fresh as can be for high-leverage situation that arise in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Baltimore's young outfielder Joey Rickard just hit the disabled list, leaving them with a void in the lineup and on the bench. Rickard, a Spring Training standout, won a job with the Orioles and found himself earning quite a bit of playing time with the first place ballclub, only to have it derailed by injury.
The Padres, meanwhile, are having a disappointing season by all standards, and have made it very evident that they are looking to sell off pieces of their Major League roster to build for future seasons. Andrew Cashner could eat up precious innings down the stretch of the season's final two months and give All Star bullpen arms Brad Brach and Zach Britton much-needed breathers. Likewise, Melvin Upton, Jr. is having a renaissance season in San Diego. He is finally healthy, and showing glimpses of the player most scouts projected him to be as a young player. His stock has never been higher. Look for Baltimore to pull the trigger potentially centered around struggling starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez and possibly a couple of prospects in the system to bolster their attack as they look to retain their lead atop the American League East.
Cleveland Indians
Needs - Outfield bat
Solution - Jay Bruce (Cincinnati Reds)
Every contender eyes a middle-of-the-order, impact presence that they can turn to and know what they're getting night in, night out. While the Cleveland Indians have found that to an extent in journeyman slugger Mike Napoli, they are missing one vital piece to the postseason puzzle: a power-hitting, corner outfielder. Jay Bruce fits that mold.
The Indians offense has felt the impact of playing without perennial All Star candidate Michael Brantley, who has logged as many as 200 hits in a season playing left field for the Tribe. An early season shoulder injury to this point has limited Brantley to just 11 games played this season.
Cleveland has run rampant through the American League to this point on the strength of their pitching staff. Not surprisingly, their success runs deeper than just their Major League product. 14 of Cleveland's top 30 prospects in the Minor Leagues are pitchers. They have arms to give. Cincinnati, meanwhile, is desperate for any sort of pitching, especially young talent with years of team control to aid them in their difficult franchise rebuilding process. Perhaps Cleveland could ship a few young hurlers across the state and land themselves the power presence they've been yearning for.
Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers
Needs - Arms, arms, arms!
Solution - Chris Sale (Chicago White Sox)
"You can never have enough pitching." Tell that to the Rangers and Dodgers! They would beg to differ. The pitching staffs of these two ballclubs have been decimated immensely by the injury bug. Texas has fought through 2016 (and are amazingly leading the American League West in the process, but their lead is slipping by the day) at some point without the likes of starting pitchers Derek Holland, Tanner Scheppers, Colby Lewis, and Yu Darvish, who has had two separate stints on the DL this year.
Meanwhile, on the West Coast, the Dodgers have scratched and clawed for four months now to keep their heads above water, as they direly look to remain within striking distance of the pitching-heavy San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers have seen pitchers Brett Anderson, Alex Wood, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw lose time this season to arm-related injuries. Their lack of depth has pushed others into situations they were not quite prepared for, including pitcher Brandon McCarthy logging more innings than initially intended after returning from a major surgery, and baby-faced phenom Julio Urias bouncing up and down from the Minor and Major Leagues to make spot starts every week, it seems.
Both teams have the wallets and the Minor League talent to strike up a deal with Chicago for ace Chris Sale. Sale is currently 14-3 with a 3.48 ERA for a White Sox ballclub that is swooning in a major way, free-falling from their hot start in April and May. Sale has a team-friendly contract to take on based on the respective starting pitching market, and has had a handful of out lashes towards the front office of the White Sox. He has an outspoken opinion of his employer, and it seems at this point, both sides are holding onto strings better left to fray. The tension is boiling over between the team and the ace, and it seems best for both if they were to simply part ways, both giving Sale a fresh start on a competitive team, and the White Sox some budding players to be excited about for 2017, 2018 and beyond.
It won't be a walk in the park to get done, however, as Chicago knows the ball is in their court. With the 2016 offseason looking bare in terms of the free-agent pitchers it has to offer, the White Sox can surely jack up the price for a man that already garners a huge return even under normal circumstances. Look for Texas to be wrung out for the likes of utility prospect Jurickson Profar and third baseman slugger Joey Gallo, while the Dodgers may be staring a situation in the face where they may be forced to give up a young outfielder and an arm, potentially five-tool talent Joc Pederson and the aforementioned Julio Urias, among others.
For baseball fans all around the world, the Trade Deadline is one of the more exciting times in the season. It becomes a nuisance for players whose names are constantly swirling around rumors, but it gives us as fans a chance to play out scenarios like these in our heads. It's a real-life version of what we play in our videogames; to us, the possibilities are endless. Will our favorite team pull the trigger on something exciting, either for the present or the future? Will the players closest to our hearts be donning new threads come August? Only time will tell. Stay in the know, and don't miss a second! Don't blink, the trades fly by in an instant.
