The trade deadline closes at 4pm EST today, July 30. It's been a wild ride so far and this last leg shouldn't disappoint. Here are the teams making moves.
Chicago Cubs - Good Things Come to an End
Sadly for Cubs fans, their run on top of the NL Central has come to an end. It looks like their cornerstone players could all be on the table: Rizzo is already gone, and more trade pieces are likely to go, including Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Craig Kimbrel. All of these guys are former all-stars on expiring contracts. Rebuilding is never easy, but it's the right move.
New York Mets - Acquisitions Imminent
The current leaders of the competitive NL East and have been quiet so far. It's unlikely they'll let this deadline slip by without an attempt to further secure their spot for the back half of the season, especially given their NL East competitors have also been relatively quiet. There's some opportunity to add depth to their pitching, which has been injury-ridden recently, and fill some holes in their lineup.
Tampa Bay Rays - Wheeling & Dealing
The Rays are always ones to watch around trade time. They aren't afraid to make deals to improve their position or their farm system, which is a reason it remains one of the strongest in the league.
This year, the Yankees and Red Sox have been making trade headlines, so Rays likely feel some added pressure to get involved in order to stay in the mix.
San Francisco Giants & San Diego Padres - Time for Some Action
The Giants have taken the league by surprise with their performance this year. That leaves both the Giants and the Padres well-positioned at this point but neither are yet to make a deal. Elsewhere in the NL West, the Dodgers have been busy, scooping up Max Scherzer and Trea Turner (possibly after topping the Padres´ original bid), so these two will likely need to keep in step if they want to remain competitive.
Colorado Rockies - Starting the Rebuild
The bottom feeder of the NL West has Trevor Story & Jon Gray, a couple attractive players that they should consider parting with. It's hard to imagine that they could keep pace with the rest of the NL West in their current position, so might as well make a deal.
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