Buy or Sell at Trade Deadline for AL Wild Card Hopefuls

The AL has become a slugfest, with the AL East, in particular, thickening the wild card hunt. The Baltimore Orioles currently hold the lead in the division, with the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays closely following, holding wild-card spots along with the defending champion Houston Astros. After those teams, five teams are within six games of the wild card and have interesting decisions to make with the MLB trade deadline looming.

Do they have a real postseason chance? Should they deal away prospects to make that happen?

Here are the five teams with tough decisions as they chase October baseball.

• Boston Red Sox (1.5 GB)

Boston has already started trading, shipping Kike Hernandez to the Dodgers for two minor-league pitchers, but neither look to make a major-league impact this season. That move doesn’t necessarily make the Red Sox sellers, but should they become sellers? I would say no, but for the right offer, they need to consider it. Most likely, they’ll be tactical, staying away from rental options and looking more toward controllable assets. Like most teams in the AL playoff chase, their most significant need is starting pitching depth. Given how much the market could be inflamed and overvalued, the Red Sox might have to opt for a lower-valued rental to eat up innings in the short term until Chris Sale and Garrett Whitlock return from injury.

Boston Red Sox Futures Odds

• New York Yankees (2.5 GB)

Of all the teams on this list, the Yankees can most easily convince themselves to become buyers. They have talent, but injuries have been their most significant derailment to a once-promising season. Again, like all AL playoff hopefuls, they could use pitching depth, but their pressing need is an everyday bat to put in the outfield with Aaron Judge (who returns from injury on Friday). The team is linked to Cody Bellinger, who has put up a ridiculous July, batting .415 and looking like his old-MVP self. Bellinger seems to be the best-case scenario for the Yankees, with someone like Dylan Carlson or Randal Grichuk being plan B.

Yankees Trade Deadline: Needs and Potential Targets

• Los Angeles Angels (4 GB)

The Angels made MLB headlines yesterday, asserting themselves as buyers by keeping Shohei Ohtani and trading for Lucas Giolito, the best available starting pitcher on the market. Since I have no faith in the Angels ever making the postseason, I thought they should have just traded Ohtani for a generational haul, but now the Halos have all the pressure on them. Sitting four games back, it’s not inconceivable, but who will the Angels knock off? The Rays and Astros feel like locks for the top two spots, with the Blue Jays holding a firm grip on the third wild card for now. If the Angels miss the postseason, as currently projected, they’re done. Shohei will walk for nothing, and the Angels will be forced into a rebuild. Who knows what will happen, but they better make it.

Angels Trade Prospects To White Sox For SP Lucas Giolito

• Seattle Mariners (4.5 GB)

The Mariners have been mediocre and should stand pat at the trade deadline. They don’t have any pressing needs where they need to be deadline buyers. They could use an additional outfielder with Jarred Kelenic sidelined, but they have the depth to get by. With the third easiest schedule in baseball remaining for the Mariners, holding steady and hoping for the tides to turn with poor opponents on the horizon could be the smartest move.

• Cleveland Guardians (5.5 GB)

The Guardians already made a substantial move, trading away Amed Rosario for Noah Syndergaard. Rosario was a pending free agent whose defensive deficiencies didn’t have him in the Guardians’ plans after this season, paving the way for opportunities for younger talent, and Syndergaard will eat up innings in a rotation that’s waiting for Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie to return from injury. They could use some added offense, but like the Mariners, they could look to stand pat and hope the team will work itself out down the stretch.

AL Central Winner: Better Off Backing the Guardians or Twins?

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