Deal or don’t deal? Major league teams face deadline dilemma

Give the Houston Astros some credit, though not much because they weren’t facing the same difficult decision that other clubs are contemplating as the annual non-waiver trade deadline approaches Friday.

The Astros are, without a doubt, a contender for the postseason, and though they are a young team without playoff experience, they might as well start gaining some now.

This could well be the opening of their window, a period in which they are going to contend for multiple seasons. Once it opens, a team must go for it because no one knows when it will start to close.

And Houston has gone for it with the acquisition of left-hander Scott Kazmir from Oakland. It was the first move in the annual midseason baseball swap meet, and a late first move at that.

How late? Remember, the Rangers acquired Cliff Lee in 2010 on July 9. Last year, Oakland dealt for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel on July 4, and San Diego sent Huston Street up I-5 to Anaheim on July 18.

Of course, deadline day last season was as busy as a day can get. Jon Lester, David Price, John Lackey and Andrew Miller all went to contenders on a day in which 12 trades were made.

These deals aren’t easy to consummate, as clubs go back and forth to settle on the players who will change hands and, occasionally, how much of a player’s contract a team will be willing to eat.

Now that there are two wild-card spots to be had in each league and with parity spreading through the game, teams are waiting as long as they can to determine whether they are contenders.

Those decisions are due soon. Some are obvious, but there are teams that seem to be in trade deadline purgatory and unsure of their best move.

Detroit Tigers

The talk throughout the week was that the Tigers’ window is now nearly shut and that they are going to start unloading their trade pieces, namely soon-to-be free agents Price and Yoenis Cespedes.

But this is a team that has too much talent to be this mediocre, and Miguel Cabrera will be back for the final six weeks of the season. The bullpen needs to be upgraded, and closer Aroldis Chapman can be had from Cincinnati and Craig Kimbrel or Joaquin Benoit could be had from San Diego.

The Tigers entered Saturday two games below .500 but five games behind Minnesota for the second wild card. The American League Central foes have six head-to-head games remaining.

Might as well take one last shot at a title.

Chicago Cubs

As unlikely as it seems, the young and talented Cubs are running neck and neck with the San Francisco Giants, the defending world champs, for the second wild-card spot in what many believed was a year to get their young studs some seasoning.

Alas, Joe Maddon has sprinkled his pixie dust on Wrigley Field, and, poof, the Cubs’ window is now open. At this point, the Cubs are deciding on how much buying they are going to do.

They have quality starting pitchers in Lester, Hammel and TCU great Jake Arrieta. Kyle Hendricks, acquired from the Texas Rangers in the Ryan Dempster deadline deal in 2012, has been serviceable.

The Cubs, though, need another starter and have the prospects to pull it off. Management has said that the future won’t be mortgaged for a rental such as Price or Samardzija. But the Cubs are reportedly interested in Cole Hamels and are somewhat intrigued by Rangers right-hander Yovani Gallardo, who knows the National League Central well.

Toronto Blue Jays

Another year, another potential disappointment north of the border, where the offense-heavy Blue Jays are again in serious need of pitching help. That was the case in 2014 when they did nothing at the deadline.

Expect this team to be active this week. GM Alex Anthopoulos knows his job status for 2016 is iffy at best without a playoff berth, and though he has made multiple good acquisitions the past nine months, that might not even be enough to save him.

He has mentioned trying to upgrade the bullpen, where the Blue Jays have a closer-by-committee and should bid for any available closer.

The rotation needs an upgrade, too. Is Johnny Cueto a reach? Toronto has talented prospects and young big leaguers to get the Reds’ ace, not to mention a potentially desperate GM.

New York Mets

Here’s a dilemma: The Mets are only three games behind the Washington Nationals, who soon will be back at full strength, in the NL East and only three games away from the second wild-card spot.

Yet, with the San Francisco Giants and Cubs ahead of them, the Mets seem much further behind.

Their dreadful offense needs a serious boost, the kind that the recently acquired Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson, a native Texan, can’t provide. New York promoted top prospect Michael Conforto, an outfielder, but San Diego’s Justin Upton would rate as a better upgrade in the outfield.

Not only is Upton a thumper, but he also knows the NL East pitching from his time in Atlanta.

The Mets’ deep farm system would appeal to the faltering Padres, whose off-season decision to go all-in stripped their system of many of its best prospects.

But the Uribe-Johnson trade, hardly a blockbuster, could be an early hint that the Mets aren’t sure how serious of a contender they are. They’re not the only team facing that dilemma.

This story was originally published July 25, 2015 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Deal or don’t deal? Major league teams face deadline dilemma."