Major League Baseball’s Trade Deadline is coming up fast. The deadline is August 1st, which means teams don’t have a lot of time left to determine whether or not they are going to be buyers or sellers. Interestingly enough, some of the biggest teams in the sport are right on the line between buying or selling. The next few games will have an impact on the rest of the year.
The Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, and Padres all came into the year with big expectations. However, due to either performance, injuries, or a combination of both, all four teams have underperformed and may be sellers in just a few days. All four teams have high payrolls, with the Mets, Yankees, and Padres all being in the Top 5 in terms of largest payrolls in the sport. Each team has some veteran pieces they can potentially move on from, but this is also a reminder that just because you spend a lot of money, it doesn’t guarantee success. Teams like the Rays, Marlins, and Orioles are proof that you still need young talent to perform in order to be successful.
Of course, the giant X-Factor over the entire Trade Deadline is what the Angels will do with superstar Shohei Ohtani. While the Angels are only 3.5 games out of the last wildcard spot, superstar outfielder Mike Trout is still out for several more weeks with a broken hand, and more consequentially, the Angels stand almost no chance of keeping Ohtani in town. Even if the Angels can sneak into the playoffs, there’s little reason to think they can go on a World Series run.
This is an exciting time for baseball fans worldwide. The addition of the third wildcard spot makes it easier for teams to dream. As the Phillies showed last year, if you can just sneak into the playoffs, anything can happen. That’s the beauty of sports.
If nothing else, the next few days will sure be exciting for baseball fans and pundits.