FanHouse MLBBuyorSell2008

July 31 is rapidly approaching. Buy or Sell lets each team know where they stand on the trade market with the deadline right around the corner.

This is the year that the Jays really thought they were going to take that step into the stratosphere of the Yankees and the Red Sox. Of course, you could probably say that about the Blue Jays every year for the last ten. But with the acquisitions of the likes of Scott Rolen and David Eckstein, this was really going to be the year.

Instead, not only were they passed by the Rays, but they've been passed by the Baltimore Orioles. And these are two franchises that haven't been known for great baseball decisions over the past ten years.

July 31 is rapidly approaching. Buy or Sell lets each team know where they stand on the trade market with the deadline right around the corner.

Before you ask, using this picture of Erin Andrews interviewing Evan Longoria was in no way, shape, or form, an attempt to gather some cheap page hits. Rather, it's used to illustrate just how far the Tampa Bay Rays have come. How many ESPN sideline reporters have you seen at Tropicana Field in the ten years prior to this season? Not many.

Erin Andrews at the Trop is just one by-product of a season that finds Tampa at the top of the A.L. East standings on July 22nd. It also means that the Rays are solid candidates to be buyers and not sellers for the first time in their short history. But who's on the grocery list?

July 31 is rapidly approaching. Buy or Sell lets each team know where they stand.

It's very odd that a) the Giants are not completely out of their division race and b) that somehow, they are reasonably stocked with prospects. Just imagine what would have happened if Brian Sabean really knew what he was doing.

However, as we have seen from the trade of Ray Durham to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Giants are, heading into the final 11 days before the trade deadline, most certainly sellers. They stand eight games back of their division, and it's not likely that even the most stout of second halves from their youngsters or tepid of performances by the Dbacks and Dodgers will let them sneak into the playoffs.

In terms of assets and receivables, the Giants have a pretty decent situation. They have no true veteran superstar to deal (unless they're willing to pay 75% of Barry Zito's contract and his "star" status is certainly debatable). In addition, they need young offensive help, but they need it everywhere, so it's not like they need to be picky.

Rich Aurilia, Dave Roberts, Randy Winn and even Omar Vizquel represent tradeable veteran talent with three or less years on their contract. They aren't premiere guys by any means, and the two years after this season that will saddle the receiving team might negate their trade value.

The question as to whether the San Diego Padres need to make trades is not so much a "yes or no" thing as it is a "why the hell hasn't Kevin Towers gotten started yet?" kind of thing.

San Diego needs a lot of stuff, although mainly offense. Adrian Gonzalez is still somehow underrated, but having to carry the entire team on his back isn't good for anyone. Chase Headley is also a great future prospect, but the Fathers are too loaded with usable veterans not to make a move for some offensive upside.

You have to assume that Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Josh Banks and Cha Seung Baek can form four-fifths of a decent rotation to start 2009. No, seriously. Have you seen the NL West?

The state of the division -- 10.5 back in the NLW = epicFAIL -- is exactly why the Pads should have been peddling sooner, or at the very least trying to drive up the value of some of their pitchers, specifically Randy Wolf and Greg Maddux.

Maddux has a no-trade clause, but you have to think he'd be willing to get moved to a contender that's close to his native San Diego, and Los Angeles has plenty of prospects they want to deal.

Trevor Hoffman may be the all time saves leader and an all time great Padre, but he's also on the downslope, albeit the top, of his career and would be a superb addition to a playoff team.

Really, if they can get back some prospects or a decent offensive player for 2009, anyone on the Padres except Peavy, Gonzo and Headley should be on the market.

July 31 is rapidly approaching. Buy or Sell lets each team know where they stand on the trade market with the deadline right around the corner.

Here's where Chase Utley stands on the trade market:

"You want to know what the possibilities are out there," Utley said Tuesday before playing in his third All-Star Game. "I know our organization wants to win, and if they can find a piece that will fit into our puzzle to give us a better chance, they'll do that."

Sounds like "Buy" to me. Case closed (It's like Utley wrote the blog entry for me). But I suppose you'd like some more details. All right. It's obvious that the Phillies could use a front-line starter. And with CC Sabathia and Rich Harden already gone, they seem to be getting creative ... as a name you wouldn't expect is starting to surface.

July 31 is rapidly approaching. Buy or Sell lets each team know where they stand on the trade market with the deadline right around the corner.

America is no doubt waiting for the next great Marlin sell-off to begin. The team hits the All-Star break right in the thick of the NL East race, but still hasn't pulled in the kind of attendance numbers that would convince the Fish to add some big pieces to the puzzle.

Not that they really need big pieces, mind you. Most of the positions on the depth chart are pretty much set for the team with the most home runs in baseball. So don't expect them to go after a big bat like Adam Dunn or Jason Bay (notice I said "most" ... more on that later). And with the rotation receiving a jolt from Ricky Nolasco (10-4, 3.70 ERA), starting pitching is less of a problem than expected (although wouldn't it be a hoot if the Marlins got A.J. Burnett back after he openly longed for a city where baseball is the big dog?)

July 31 is rapidly approaching. Buy or Sell lets each team know where they stand.

The Boston Red Sox aren't sellers, just to get that out of the way. Are they big buyers though? A lot of that will come down to a slim sheath protecting a tendon in the wrist of David Ortiz. Rumors have been bouncing around about the team's interest in Mark Teixeira to fill Papi's spot in the lineup. That's curious since the team has maintained from day one that Papi will be just fine and back in the lineup for the stretch run.

They probably won't know if Papi is healthy until the deadline has passed. He's supposed to be back July 25th but push that back a couple of days and you're not going to be able to land a big-time replacement. Similarly, if Ortiz suffers a setback after the fact the team will be left scrambling for answers. That's a problem but not a huge one. The Sox haven't suffered too much in Ortiz's absence and have a killer pitching staff that can carry them with or without Papi's monster bat.

The other problem with the trade idea for Teixeira is the inclusion of Kevin Youkilis in the rumored package going to Atlanta. Youk has been great for the Sox and isn't that far below Teixeira on the list of first basemen. Why would you deal a guy with controllable costs for an impending free agent who would cost upwards of $15 million to keep around?

July 31 is rapidly approaching. Buy or Sell lets each team know where they stand.

Ahhhh, Ned Colletti. He's famous around these parts, you know. Many believe he's a lame duck GM at this point, what with, oh, signing Andruw Jones to a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal. And the Dodgers stinking. Relatively.

But the thing Ole' Steady Neddy's got going for him is that the Dodgers are in a division that matches Ned in overall mediocrity, the wild, wild NL West, where .500 will take you to the postseason. So what should Ned do, in his potentially final trading deadline hurrah as Dodgers GM?

Buy, of course! Matt Holliday, Mark Teixeira, you name it. Joe Blanton, sure. Overpriced, nearly free agent veterans for potential superstars whose only fault is that they can't listen? That's Ned's wheelhouse, kids.

July 31 is rapidly approaching. Buy or Sell lets each team know where they stand.

It is absolutely, completely 100% unfathomable to me that we have to answer this question for the Astros. They're currently standing at 44-51, in last place in the NL Central, 13 games behind the Cubs and 8.5 back of the Wild Card. They've got no pitching staff to speak of and their offense is old. This team isn't a contender and they're in serious danger of falling into a huge rut because of the emptiness of their farm system. The answer here is an emphatic, "SELL! SELL! SELL!'

And yet, Ed Wade isn't convinced. He seems to think that there's a way for him to patch the team together and make a run at something this year. At the very least, he's refusing to rebuild this year. That's a dangerous idea for a team that's top two prospects (Hunter Pence, J.R. Towles) are already in the majors. Of course, Wade is the guy that sent a passel of prospects to Baltimore for Miguel Tejada over the winter, so don't doubt him on this one.

The other problem the Astros face is that they don't really have any terribly attractive "sell" candidates. Their best players (Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, Carlos Lee, and Tejada, I guess) are all kind of old and locked up until the 2011/2012 neighborhood. Really, the Astros kind of look to be painted into a corner for the near future, and having Wade at the helm isn't going to help things.

July 31 is rapidly approaching. Buy or Sell lets each team know where they stand.

It's amazing that the Yankees are just five and a half games out of a playoff spot at this point in the season. At one time or another, Chien-Ming Wang, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have been on the disabled list. Hughes and Kennedy were epic disappointments in the rotation and players like Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano haven't produced resulting in an offense that's only been league average at scoring runs.

They've been saved by surprising returns to form by Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi, as well as the continued brilliance of Rodriguez, but the Yankees enter the second half in a precarious position. That would seem to point to making trades for help in both the lineup and on the pitching staff.

A player like Adam Dunn would make sense as an offensive boost. His high OBP and lefty power are well-suited for the Yankee lineup but if Damon and Matsui come back and stay healthy, how to juggle a lineup that would be overloaded on the left side. The biggest offensive need is getting Melky Cabrera out of the regular lineup but Dunn wouldn't help on that front either because he can't play center.