S Trade Deadline Strategy
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Every team’s Trade Deadline strategy 2:39 AM UTC MLB.com The 2021 Trade Deadline is coming up on July 30. As it approaches, MLB.com gathered its beat reporters to explain what every team is going to be doing over the next two weeks. Here’s a breakdown of all 30 teams’ Trade Deadline strategies — whether they’re buyers, sellers, both or still undecided. Teams are listed by division and in alphabetical order. AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST BLUE JAYS: Buyer The Blue Jays have the talent to make a run and still feel like they have a hot streak in them that could catapult them into the AL East division race. For now, an AL Wild Card spot is in sight, and the Blue Jays need to patch up some roster deficiencies to allow this star-studded lineup to truly shine. The bullpen remains a priority along with the rotation, as always, but the Blue Jays aren’t a classic Deadline buyer targeting rentals. With their young core and a great deal of payroll flexibility in 2022 and beyond, the Blue Jays can be creative when it comes to adding contracts or players with multiple years of team control remaining. The Blue Jays’ farm system is still strong, but their ability to take on money might be their greatest asset at the Deadline.— Keegan Matheson ORIOLES: Seller The Orioles are again on the hunt for prospects, and they are in possession of their best trade chips of the Mike Elias era to date. The question is how aggressively Elias will shop stars Trey Mancini, John Means and Cedric Mullins, if at all. The O’s would require a big haul in return for any of them, leading many to believe the likeliest scenario is all three remaining in Baltimore through the Deadline. It should be easier to swing a deal for the O’s other trade candidates, notably left-handed relievers Paul Fry and Tanner Scott, and perhaps outfielder Anthony Santander. They dealt veteran relievers Mychal Givens and Miguel Castro at last year’s Deadline, and Fry and Scott are performing better than either and are both under club control through 2022. Don’t expect the Orioles to part with any prospects at the Deadline, as they are paramount to the club’s rebuilding efforts. — Joe Trezza RAYS: Buyer You can always anticipate a fair amount of creativity from the Rays, like the mid-May trade that sent starting shortstop Willy Adames to Milwaukee for two relievers and cleared the way for Taylor Walls and Wander Franco, so maybe their version of buying won’t look quite the same as a traditional contender. But Tampa Bay has put itself in a great position, with a crowded big league roster full of talented players — including young contributors like Franco, Walls and Vidal Brujan — and a ton of depth throughout baseball’s top Minor League system. Could the Rays shuffle some established players to create both 1) playing time for the next wave of stars and 2) payroll flexibility for trade acquisitions? Possibly. Either way, expect general manager Erik Neander and Co. to honor what their players are doing by supplementing the core in some way. Maybe they’ll pursue a big bat to further bolster their lineup or a front-line starter to guard against the possibility that ace Tyler Glasnow doesn’t return, or perhaps they’ll find hidden gems like they always seem to this time of year. With the Rays, everything’s always on the table. — Adam Berry RED SOX: Buyer Chaim Bloom follows in a recent line of Red Sox executives (Theo Epstein, Dave Dombrowski) with a history of being aggressive at the Deadline. Bloom has extensive history buying and selling. Unlike last year, when he smartly turned Brandon Workman, Heath Hembree, Mitch Moreland, Kevin Pillar and Josh Osich into a batch of prospects, he will be looking to add veterans this time for the stretch run to fortify a team that has exceeded all expectations — perhaps even the ones the Red Sox had for themselves. A left-handed hitter who can play first base is an obvious need. As good as the bullpen has been, they’ve been asked to do a lot, so a reinforcement or two would help the cause. Another starting pitcher would also be helpful, though nobody is going to make a bigger impact than Chris Sale, assuming he stays on track and returns in mid-August. One thing Bloom isn’t going to do is trade top prospects and go into complete sell-out mode to win it all this year. The Red Sox are early in the process of building a foundation they want to be sustainable year after year. — Ian Browne YANKEES: Buyer GM Brian Cashman has said that he is in buyer mode heading toward the Trade Deadline, noting that he and assistant GM Michael Fishman have touched base with each of the 29 clubs seeking upgrades to the Yankees’ roster. Their primary areas of focus are an everyday center fielder who can replace the impact that Aaron Hicks was expected to have and a starting pitcher to supplement Gerrit Cole in the rotation while they wait for Luis Severino and Corey Kluber to return. Cashman has left open the possibility that the Yankees could explore a 2016-like partial selloff if they “sink like a rock” in July, but managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said that isn’t something he has even considered. — Bryan Hoch AL CENTRAL INDIANS: Both The Indians have perfected a buying-by-selling strategy over the last few years, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the club take the same approach at this year’s Trade Deadline. The team is still in contention and it views itself as a competitor for the 2021 season, which means it will look for ways to improve the current roster by the end of the month. However, Cleveland is always willing to listen to propositions about any of its players and someone like second baseman Cesar Hernandez or some of its high-end middle infield prospects could be used to help bring back young, controllable, MLB- ready (or close to it) talent to make an impact this season and for the foreseeable future. The Indians are always looking to add to their starting pitching depth, but the bigger need is an impact outfield bat. — Mandy Bell ROYALS: Both The Royals are too far out of the AL Central race to be true buyers at the Deadline, but they’re not going to be true sellers, either, because they believe they can contend in the coming years and aren’t going to be willing to trade away their top Major League talent for prospects. There’s thought that the Royals could use some veteran players as trade chips, like Carlos Santana and Mike Minor, but Kansas City also places a value on those players to help the younger core that should be the next wave of Major League talent soon. So there’s a balance to strike at the Deadline, and the Royals are going to examine the deals that will help them make the turn toward contending in the next few years. — Anne Rogers TIGERS: Seller It’s not exactly a fire sale in Detroit, where injuries to Spencer Turnbull, Matthew Boyd and Michael Fulmer have erased an opportunity to leverage the Tigers’ pitching surplus into potential help on the offensive side. But with Jonathan Schoop enjoying what should’ve been an All-Star season ahead of free agency, there’s still a chance for GM Al Avila to explore the market. The Tigers have found some undervalued prospects from trading pending free agents the last couple years, including Zack Short for Cameron Maybin and Joey Wentz for Shane Greene. Both Avila and manager A.J. Hinch have said recently the Tigers won’t make deals unless they make the team better. With the team on the upswing, Detroit wants players who can help the club next year or shortly after, not five years down the road. — Jason Beck TWINS: Seller There’s a balance to be had here, because the Twins could presumably have the young lineup pieces to compete in 2022 — but moving their most meaningful trade chips at this Deadline would make it much more difficult for them to make a push. It’s probably a safe bet that the Twins will find suitors for designated hitter Nelson Cruz and reliever Hansel Robles, both of whom are set to be free agents this offseason, but Cruz’s market will be limited due to his defensive restrictions. They’ll do what they can with Michael Pineda, another impending free agent — but one coming off injury. That means right-hander Jose Berrios could be the most coveted piece on the market for contenders, especially in a market largely devoid of starting pitchers. Berrios gets added value from the fact that he has a year of team control remaining, but that’s exactly why the Twins might want to hold onto him — especially if they believe this emerging young core of Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach and Ryan Jeffers can make for a contending lineup next season. And can they find any suitor willing to take on the remaining two years of Josh Donaldson’s contract? — Do-Hyoung Park WHITE SOX: Buyer The biggest moves made by the White Sox could come from their key players getting healthy and coming back. Left fielder Eloy Jimenez (ruptured left pectoral tendon) has started a Minor League injury rehab assignment and center fielder Luis Robert (right hip flexor tear) is not too far behind.