MLB Trade Deadline: Five Potential Contenders in Need of Offensive Talent

With the trade deadline only two weeks away, here is a look at five playoff-caliber teams that could substantially improve their postseason odds with front office moves to target offensive talent by the trade deadline. 

With budgetary constraints and long-term goals in mind, this list is not so much a prediction of who will or even who should be buyers at the deadline; rather, it is a list of teams that could strengthen their chances of success in October. 

San Francisco Giants

 With their pitching staff performing as well as expected, the Giants chances at a repeat hinge on the productivity of their offense. Despite being 13 games over .500 with a 54-41 at time of this article, the Giants’ offense ranks 25^th in Major League Baseball in batting average and 27^th in runs scored.

Given the strength of their pitching staff, these numbers may be good enough to secure a trip to the postseason, especially in the not particularly competitive National League West. The high number of low-scoring games, however, has already taxed the bullpen. Consequently, the Giants may find themselves with a weary pitching staff come October.

San Francisco has the money to make a solid addition. With Pablo Sandoval’s resurgence coupled with good production from Cody Ross and Nate Schierholtz – not to mention the likely return of Freddy Sanchez in the coming weeks – the Giants may be one big bat away from a repeat. 

Atlanta Braves

Atlanta’s pitching staff is currently second in Major League Baseball in terms of ERA. Their dominant bullpen, anchored by All-Stars Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel, has pitched exceedingly well this year, and seemingly without incident.

Atlanta has the second-best record in the National League, only trailing the dominant Philadelphia Phillies. The Braves are, however, only batting .238 as a team – an even lower number than the anemic San Francisco Giants’ offense. While they are near the middle of the pack in runs scored, the Braves may have to address their sputtering offense by the deadline.

Atlanta lost to the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS last year three games to one, but every game was a one-run game. With both the Giants and Philadelphia Phillies figuring to make the postseason with comparable pitching staffs, Atlanta will need far more than Brian McCann to have a legitimate shot at being title contenders. 

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Angels feature one of the best one-two starting pitcher punches in all of baseball with Jered Weaver and Dan Haren. While the team ranks near the middle of the pack in batting average, the Angels are 11^th (of 14) in the American League in runs produced.

Weaver and Haren have been stellar, but Ervin Santana and the back of the rotation have been inconsistent at best. To make matters worse the Angels, despite playing good baseball, are falling behind the surging Texas Rangers in the standings.

The Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox all figure to make the playoffs on the strength of their offenses. None of the aforementioned teams are particularly pitching-rich, which could benefit Anaheim heavily in the divisional round. In the League Championship round and World Series, however, offense may factor more heavily. Torii Hunter has obviously not lived up to his billing, and the Angels need more productivity out of the middle of the order. 

Tampa Bay Rays

Given the small market and budgetary constraints that Tampa Bay is forced to contend with, it is unlikely that they will acquire any talent that can bolster their team batting average of .247, which currently ranks 12^th (of 14) in the American League.

Tampa Bay's run production is solid, but with front-line starters like David Price and James Shields, the Rays could compete within the American League East if their offense could balance out their pitching.

Casey Kotchman, Matt Joyce, and Johnny Damon are all having very solid seasons at the plate, but B.J. Upton has yet to find his form. The same is true for Evan Longoria.

2010 just might not be Tampa Bay’s year. They have already shown immense fortitude by hanging tough in the American League East after last year’s significant departures. I would doubt they will do anything to improve their chances, but their chances are very real with more explosiveness on offense. 

Pittsburgh Pirates

When you haven’t had a winning season since 1992, it’s easy to look at any glimmer of hope and see it as salvation. The Pittsburgh Pirates are, as of this article, only half a game out of first place in the NL Central. Andrew McCutchen accounts for an inordinate share of Pittsburgh’s success, but the team does not have tremendous depth, and McCutchen is not an MVP caliber player (yet).

Pittsburgh has the tools to give Milwaukee and St. Louis a legitimate scare this season, and it is foreseeable that they find their way into October baseball for the first time in nearly twenty years. But Paul Maholm, Jeff Karstens, and the rest of Pittsburgh’s talented pitching staff need help. Whether or not Pittsburgh is willing to acquire such help remains to be answered.