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Which Teams Face The Toughest Decisions As The Trade Deadline Approaches?

It’s getting to that point in the season, and the decision gets harder and harder every year. Are we buyers or sellers come July 31st?

With the ever expanding parity in baseball, more and more teams face the difficult proposition of deciding if they’re within a realistic arm’s length of a playoff berth, or if it’s not their year. Here are the five teams with the toughest decisions to make, and the decisions they should ultimately come to:

5 – Atlanta Braves

Being five games under .500 usually makes for an easy decision, but their upcoming series with division leader Philadelphia offers the Braves one last chance to get back in the race before the trade deadline. As it is, they are only six games out of first. Their decision is further complicated because they seem to have the single biggest trading asset on the market in first baseman Mark Teixeira. The Braves should be better than they are this season, and their failures can easily be attributed to pitching injuries (mainly to Tom Glavine and John Smoltz) and the intense struggles of right fielder Jeff Francoeur. This team isn’t in need of a complete overhaul and doesn’t need to unload more than a player or two.

The Braves should be sellers, but only for Mark Teixeira, as they stand to lose him at the end of the season. They should only sell, however, if they can get in return more value than they can obtain from the draft picks they will get when Teixeira leaves via free agency.

4 – New York Yankees

The Yankees decision would have been a lot easier a couple of weeks ago, when they were nine games out of first place and just over .500. Winning 10 out of 13 games since July 5th has changed their season’s outlook, as the Bombers are now just 3.5 games behind Tampa in the AL East and three behind Boston in the wild card. This puts them squarely in the role of buyer, but does this go with their overall philosophy? Coming into the year, GM Brian Cashman made a dedicated effort to rely on the Yankees’ talented youth. That youth consisted of Phillip Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Melky Cabrera, none of whom are responsible for any success the Yankees have had this year. Would being a buyer at the trade deadline signal that they are abandoning that philosophy already?

The answer depends on the kind of trade they make. The Yankees should be actively searching the market for help, and they have been with moves like signing Richie Sexson (and more importantly only letting him face lefties). These are the kinds of moves the Yankees can make to solidify their chances without giving up any pieces for the future.

The Yankees should be buyers on a limited basis for role players (specifically bullpen help) only and should not give up any top prospects.

3 – Detroit Tigers

The Tigers have been the poster boys for why we actually play the season out rather than just crown a champion in February (not that this is actually being considered). GM Dave Dombrowski was the MVP of the off-season, but the Tigers have been as disappointing this season as they were magnificent at the winter meetings. All this being said, they are still not out of the race. They are only three games over .500 but are just 5.5 games back of AL Central leader Chicago and three games back of Minnesota. They have enough talent that if they could just get to the playoffs, they’d be that team no one wants to play. The question is how are they going to get there?

The Tigers farm system is virtually bare after the Marlins raided it this winter. They have little left that would garner an impact player in return, and the one thing they needed to add the most (an impact starter) has already been traded. The only real “impact” starter remaining is A.J. Burnett, but the Tigers don’t have the chips to trade for him, nor should they try. What pieces they do have will be necessary to replace aging veterans like Gary Sheffield (39), Magglio Ordonez (34), Ivan Rodriguez (36) and Kenny Rogers (43).

The Tigers should not sell, as they’re still loaded and played over .700 ball in June, but they shouldn’t buy either. Another month anywhere near what they did in June and they will make a run at the division without adding another piece. The Tigers admittedly put all their eggs in one basket at the start of the season, and they have to ride that basket all the way through.

2 – Los Angeles Dodgers

The last two teams are from the National League West, which creates its own set of problems. No one in the division is over .500, leading to a lot of mediocre teams and indecision. The Dodgers have a lot of above average talent, but no one who is dominant on either side of the ball. The division is weak, which is enticing, and being only one game out of first place means every series is a chance to earn a playoff birth. The question, though, is can the Dodgers compete once they get there? As they are right now, they can’t. A small acquisition will not put them over the edge, and only a big bat (like Teixeira) or an impact pitcher (like Orioles closer George Sherrill) will really make a difference.

Unless the Dodgers can find such a player, their best bet is to build for next year. A small move might get them over the top in the NL West, but what good is building a team just strong enough to win a weak division and have a first round exit in the playoffs?

1 – Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks’ situation is similar to the Dodgers’, but with three subtle yet important exceptions. They are currently in first place, and while it is only by one game, already being there, and having been there last year, makes a big difference, if only psychologically. Secondly, if they can get to the playoffs, they are built for the playoffs much more so than the regular season. What team wants to face the trio of Brandon Webb, Dan Haren and Randy Johnson in a playoff series? The third, and most important factor, is that unlike the Dodgers the D-Backs have a very strong young nucleus that should continue to progress – Chris Young, Justin Upton, Connor Jackson, Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, Webb, Haren, and Max Scherzer.

The D-Backs would be foolish to jeopardize their future for a run this season, especially when they can likely win the weak NL West and compete in the playoffs. They’re better off making more moves like Jon Rauch and Tony Clark – not big moves like Teixeira or Burnett.