EAST LANSING- Just over halfway throughout the 2024 MLB season, the pinnacle of the summer has finally come to fruition. With the All-Star break now in the books, the MLB Trade Deadline is now in striking distance, and some crucial trades could be in the works over the coming days ahead of the looming July 30 deadline.  With less than two weeks to go, teams are doing their due diligence, with teams buying, squads selling, and a lot of pressing decisions to contemplate, so let’s dive right in.  

(Note: All stats are as of the start of play on Friday, June 19)

Trade Flurries in Toronto?

The Toronto Blue Jays are 44-52 and are a feeble 14 games back in the stacked American League East race. While Toronto’s season has been disastrous, the Jays are home to a plethora of assets that could be on the move ahead of the deadline. 

Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was crowned as the 2023 Home Run Derby champion and has hit 26 or more home runs in three straight seasons. The son of MLB Hall-of-Famer Vladimir Guerrero, “Vladdy” is boasting yet another spectacular year, slashing .288/.359/.456 with 14 long balls in his age-25 season. 

With the Astros in close pursuit of the division crown, the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners are expected to be interested in trading for the four-time all-star. Up in the Pacific Northwest, the bats are as cold as can be. Despite being atop the division, the Mariners are dead last in the majors in team batting average, are 28th in team on-base plus slugging, and are 26th in team RBIs. 

The M’s desperately need a middle-of-the-order bat to complement rising star Julio Rodriguez, who has endured struggles of his own in year three.  Former All-Star first baseman Ty France, who is known for his contact skills, has been pitiful for the Mariners this season, hitting a feeble .228. Guerrero Jr would make his presence felt instantly at T-Mobile Park, where manager Scott Servais’ lineup desperately needs more production. 

The Mariners have one of the best farm systems in baseball, so while Vlad would not be cheap, Seattle has the means to strike what would likely be the biggest trade made at the deadline if it went down.

Another Blue Jay who could be changing teams is another MLB legacy: star shortstop Bo Bichette. 

In the wake of leading the AL in hits twice across his last three seasons, Bichette has had the worst season of his young career in 2024. Just a season removed from a .306 batting average and a .814 OPS, Bichette possesses a slash line of .222/.275/.321 at the break. 

The 26-year-old also hit 20 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons but has only left the yard four times thus far this season. 

Bichette, at his peak, is one of the most consistent players in Major League Baseball and has real aspirations of turning his lackluster season around. Contending teams in need of a shortstop include the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers, and both teams are home to some of the strongest hitting coaches in the league, which could be the key to unlocking Bichette’s prior successes. 

The Braves lost reigning MVP Ronald Acuna Jr to a torn ACL earlier this season, so adding Bichette will keep Atlanta competitive and keep the Phillies on their toes. Orlando Arcia was an all-star a season ago but has a .211 batting average and a .577 OPS in 2024, so Bichette, despite his struggles, would be a significant improvement. 

As for the Dodgers, adding Bichette would allow Mookie Betts to return to the outfield and solve the Dodgers shortstop woes that have reoccurred since Trea Turner jetted off to Philadelphia. Having Betts, Bichette, Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani, and Teoscar Hernandez in the same lineup would make the scariest lineup in baseball even more fearsome, adding yet another all-star to manager Dave Roberts’ lineup. 

The Blue Jays could embrace a full rebuild, with starters Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt being also potential trade candidates, with impending free agents such as Yusei Kikuchi and Justin Turner also potentially on the move.

The Jays have a chance to truly shake things up across the next 10 days, making for one of the biggest storylines across Major League Baseball.

To Buy or To Sell

In the wake of tossing the first pitch at Citi Field in mid-June, famed McDonald’s mascot Grimace has been the symbol of the New York Mets’ surging season. Since Grimace made his appearance in Queens the Mets are 21-9, including winning 12 of the last 16 and seven in a row in June. Carlos Mendoza’s squad has been blazing hot as of late, improving to 49-46 and holding the final wild-card berth in the National League. 

After a 9-19 stretch in May, the expectation was that the Mets would be shipping off their talent at the deadline, which still could be the case with general manager David Stearns having a plethora of expiring deals to trade ahead of next Wednesday’s deadline. 

The most impactful of them is All-Star slugger Pete Alonso, who is hitting .240 with 19 long balls on the year. Alonso wants top-flight money at first base while hitting the market, with the Houston Astros expected to be interested as their playoff push intensifies. 

The Astros could add Alonso to a star-studded lineup that already includes Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, and Alex Bregman. Signing Jose Abreu did not work for Houston, so bringing in Alonso could reap serious benefits. 

Free agent acquisitions Luis Severino and Harrison Bader could be on the move as well, with Severino racking up a 3.78 earned run average in his opening season in Queens after spending the duration of his career in the Bronx with the Yankees. Severino has bounced back after a disastrous 2023 with the Yankees, and contending teams could have their eye on the Dominican flamethrower, while Bader has yielded a similar bounce-back season while playing at Citi Field. 

Like Alonso, longtime Met and former batting champion Jeff McNeil could also be traded, as the Mets continue the youth culture in Queens.

Amidst the recent hot streak, Mets fans are clamoring for acquisitions to be made in the bullpen, with star closer Edwin Diaz receiving little help thus far in 2024, after Reed Garrett’s sizzling start to the season quickly fizzled out. 

A name to watch for the Mets is White Sox reliever pitcher Michael Kopech. While the 28-year-old’s 5.05 ERA may not jump off the page, Kopech has a blazing fastball that can hit triple digits and can pitch multiple innings as a setup man for Diaz due to his history as a starter in Chi-Town. 

Another possibility for New York is Houston’s Ryan Pressly. Pressly has a 3.68 ERA across 36.2 innings pitched in 2024, as the 35-year-old’s role as the Astros’ full-time closer was usurped by the offseason signing of Josh Hader. With the Astros and Mets both on the playoff borderline, Pressly could be the newest addition to the Mets’ disastrous bullpen. 

With the Mets on the brink of the postseason, the direction Stearns and Mendoza choose to take the franchise will be crucial, especially with the Mets possessing one of the deepest farm systems in the MLB.

Quick Hits:

• Michael Kopech isn’t the only White Sox who could be dealt at the deadline. Outfielder Luis Robert Jr and rookie phenom Garrett Crochet could be on the move, as it has been reported that multiple contenders have shown interest in both Sox cornerstones. In under 200 at-bats, Robert has hit both 11 home runs and stolen bases, while Crochet has a 3.02 ERA with an immaculate 150 strikeouts across 107 and one-third innings as it would take a pretty penny to acquire either player.
• Just a season removed from reaching the postseason, the Miami Marlins are embracing the rebuild. Luis Arraez has already been traded to San Diego, and Jazz Chisholm Jr and Tanner Scott could be the next to depart to Miami. 
• Staying in Florida, the Tampa Bay Rays have had conversations about moving a few of their impact bats. 29-year-old outfielder Randy Arozarena has been dangled in trade discussions for the Rays in the midst of a down season. Arozarena is hitting at a .202 clip with a .671 OPS in 2024, as the Rays could trade Arozarena, Yandy Diaz, or even Brandon Lowe.
• Like their Big Apple counterpart, the New York Yankees are in dire need of some bullpen help to relieve the struggling Clay Holmes, Tanner Scott, Hector Neris, and Paul Sewald are among the realistic options for the Bronx Bombers. 
• A new chapter could be coming to Oakland. Both the slugging Brent Rooker and the dazzling Mason Miller could be donning new threads after July 30. The 29-year-old designated hitter is slashing .291/.369/.573 while Miller leads all relievers in strikeouts per nine innings.
• Last but finally not least, the local Detroit Tigers have a crucial deadline on their hands. Cy Young’s favorite Tarik Skubal has been heavily pursued by both the Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles, while Jack Flaherty and Gio Urshela are other trade candidates to depart Motor City.