Post-Trade Deadline Contender Needs (American League)

It’s still too early to decide which pre-deadline trades (or non-trades) were good or bad moves. It isn’t too early, though, for contenders to determine whether they still need more help down the stretch and make any necessary adjustments.

Here’s a spoiler alert. Eight of the 10 American League contenders listed in this article are in need of starting pitching. Unfortunately, there is not much of it available as evidenced by our Top 20 August Trade Candidate list. The biggest name available as a free agent, Jonathan Papelbon, will likely sign with a contending team in the near future. Carlos Gomez, too, could soon be available to any club. Keep in mind, though, that each player was recently released by a playoff contender due to very poor performance.

Here’s an update on the American League teams that currently hold a playoff spot or are close enough to be considered playoff contenders and their biggest needs as we approach the stretch run. (Note: I elected to list any team within arm’s reach of a Wild Card spot as a contender at this point, in spite of the direction they signaled prior to the non-waiver trade deadline.)

AL EAST

Toronto Blue Jays
Current Place in Standings: 69-52; 1st Place +1.5
Key pre-deadline additions: Melvin Upton Jr., Francisco Liriano, Scott Feldman, Joaquin Benoit
Key players lost to injury since deadline: Jose Bautista, Kevin Pillar
Record Since Trade Deadline: 10-6

The acquisition of Melvin Upton Jr. gave the team an excellent fourth outfielder who is capable of playing all three outfield spots well, providing speed and power off of the bench and giving veteran Jose Bautista an occasional day off. Those plans have been altered, however, with Kevin Pillar (sprained thumb on August 7th) and Bautista (sprained knee on August 9th) both on the disabled list.

Upton’s struggles since joining the Jays, along with those of Michael Saunders and Justin Smoak haven’t helped. Unless Dalton Pompey starts playing like the guy the Jays thought he would be when he burst onto the scene two seasons ago, the Jays might need to go shopping again. Several outfielders, including Peter Bourjos and former Blue Jay Melky Cabrera, could be targeted in an August deal. They could also take a shot on Carlos Gomez in hopes that a change of scenery would help him turn things around.

Boston Red Sox
Current Place in Standings: 67-52; 1st Wild Card +3.5
Key pre-deadline additions: Drew Pomeranz, Brad Ziegler, Fernando Abad, Aaron Hill
Key players lost to injury since deadline: Steven Wright
Record Since Trade Deadline: 10-6

The Red Sox have a playoff-caliber roster with enough pitching and plenty of offense, especially with the recent addition of top prospect Andrew Benintendi. So why aren’t they being mentioned often with the likes of the Rangers and Indians as AL favorites? Probably because staff ace David Price, who has given up 56 hits and struck out only 31 hitters in his 45 1/3 second-half innings, hasn’t looked like much of a staff ace in many of his starts.

This doesn’t mean they don’t have enough to win it all, especially if Steven Wright and Koji Uehara can return to health. This team can out-hit opponents, get quality starting pitching on a regular basis and hand the ball over to Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning. An additional relief arm, in light of Junichi Tazawa’s struggles since being activated from a shoulder injury, plus a return to form for David Price could make them favorites in the playoffs.

Baltimore Orioles
Current Place in Standings: 67-53; T-1st Wild Card +3
Key pre-deadline additions: Wade Miley, Steve Pearce
Key players lost to injury since deadline: Darren O’Day
Record Since Trade Deadline: 8-8

Even the most powerful offense and a dominant bullpen isn’t capable of carrying a bad starting rotation for an entire season — or even much more than half of a season, as is the case with the Orioles. Mark Trumbo and Chris Davis have slumped in the second half. All-Star setup man Brad Brach, on pace for over 70 games, has been scored upon in five of his last 10 appearances. Darren O’Day is on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation.

While the emergence of Dylan Bundy as the team’s best starting pitcher since being moved from the bullpen last month has given this team a shot in the arm, it’s unlikely that he’s going to finish the season in the rotation. The 23-year-old was supposed to spend the entire season in the bullpen after several injury-plagued years. Adding Wade Miley gave them an upgrade over Ubaldo Jimenez, but not by much. He’s had one good start and two bad ones since being acquired.

The Orioles’ best bet to upgrade their rotation at this point would be to acquire Jeremy Hellickson, who has had an excellent season for the Phillies but probably wouldn’t get to them on waivers. I have no confidence in this team getting to the post-season, mainly due to the starting pitching. Chris Tillman and Yovani Gallardo will have to step up in order to prove me wrong.

New York Yankees
Current Place in Standings: 61-59; Wild Card deficit -6
Key pre-deadline additions: Tyler Clippard, Adam Warren
Key players lost to injury since deadline: Nathan Eovaldi
Record Since Trade Deadline: 9-7

The arrival of three of the Yankees’ young hitting prospects—Tyler Austin, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez— and the end of the Alex Rodriguez era was supposed to signal a look ahead to 2017. But for now, the Yankees still find themselves within striking distance of a playoff spot in 2016. It’s a fun team to watch, but they don’t have enough pitching to make a serious run.

If Luis Severino had replicated his stellar rookie campaign, they might have a chance, but he’s struggled to the point that he’s back in Triple-A. It’s not even certain who will step in as their fifth starter starter when that spot comes up again. And, of course, they just traded away two of the best relievers in baseball.

They have a few pitching prospects deserving of a look—starting pitchers Chance Adams and Jordan Montgomery and reliever Jonathan Holder—but of them are likely to make a major impact in September. They’re in a similar boat as the Orioles—they probably don’t enough pitching to hang with the Blue Jays and Red Sox for another six weeks, and there’s not much help available on the trade market.

AL CENTRAL

Cleveland Indians
Current Place in Standings: 69-50; 1st Place +6
Key pre-deadline additions: Andrew Miller, Brandon Guyer
Key players lost to injury since deadline: Danny Salazar
Record Since Trade Deadline: 9-8

The obvious move for the Indians is to acquire Kurt Suzuki , who would probably be a significant offensive upgrade over Roberto Perez, who is 7-for-65 on the season, and Chris Gimenez (.576 OPS in 125 plate appearances). But the lack of any sort of offensive contribution from the catcher’s position is the least of the team’s worries right now. Without a healthy Danny Salazar and with Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin struggling since the All-Star break, their current six-game division lead doesn’t seem as safe as it should.

The talented rotation trio of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Salazar is the main reason that the Indians have been a popular pick for AL World Series representative. The problem is that Salazar’s chances of joining his rotation-mates in the post-season decreased substantially when he went on the disabled list earlier this month with elbow discomfort. If his return to action on Thursday was any indication (1 IP, 3 ER, H, 3 BB, K), it doesn’t appear that he’s capable of helping out any time soon.

The Indians need Salazar at his best if they’re going to advance deep into the playoffs. Giving him a couple more weeks off to get healthy, followed by a rehab start or two might make more sense than running him out there every five days and hoping that he somehow turns things around.

Detroit Tigers
Current Place in Standings: 64-57; Wild Card deficit -3.5
Key pre-deadline additions: None
Key players lost to injury since deadline: Nick Castellanos, Jordan Zimmermann, Jose Iglesias, Cameron Maybin
Record Since Trade Deadline: 7-9

The Tigers got themselves back into the playoff race and were starting to build up some serious momentum. But they’ve been hit hard with the injury bug as of late and the workload of arguably their best starting pitcher, Michael Fulmer, could become an issue. The momentum has come to a halt, although a rejuvenated Justin Verlander and a powerful lineup led by Miguel Cabrera give them a fighting chance to make up the necessary ground.

Since starting pitching will be hard to come by, they’ll continue to rely on young lefties Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd and hope that Zimmermann can return to health. Their bullpen, however, as is always the case, is in need of some help. Primary setup man Justin Wilson has struggled lately and closer Francisco Rodriguez has two losses, a blown save and four earned runs allowed in his last six appearances. They could consider adding a ’pen arm like White Sox closer David Robertson, although they’d likely be saddled with the remaining $25MM he’s due through the 2018 season.

Adding another bat could also be on the agenda with three lineup regulars on the shelf. If Danny Valencia or Trevor Plouffe can make it through waivers—Plouffe is much more likely due to his higher salary ($7.25MM) and lesser production—the Tigers should pounce. Either would be a significant upgrade over Casey McGehee (12-for-47, 0 HR, 0 BB, 6 K) until Nick Castellanos returns from the disabled list in mid-September.

Kansas City Royals
Current Place in Standings: 61-60; Wild Card deficit -6.5
Key pre-deadline additions: None
Key players lost to injury since deadline: None
Record Since Trade Deadline: 12-5

Five consecutive wins has the defending World Series champs back over .500 and within 6.5 games of a Wild Card spot. Odds still aren’t great, but I wouldn’t count them out. Danny Duffy is pitching like an ace. Ian Kennedy and Edinson Volquez have been very good as of late. If Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez can get it going, the offense can still be a force to be reckoned with. If only the bullpen was still as good as it has been the past two seasons.

Aside from Kelvin Herrera and Matt Strahm, who looks like he could be the dominant lefty the Royals were hoping Duffy would be before he was needed in the rotation, the bullpen is pretty bad. There aren’t many reliable and affordable late-inning arms expected to pass through waivers, so unless they’re willing to take a shot on Jonathan Papelbon, it might be a healthy Wade Davis or bust. Davis, who is on the disabled list recovering from a strained flexor tendon, felt fine after a 25-pitch bullpen on Tuesday.

AL WEST

Texas Rangers
Current Place in Standings: 72-50; 1st Place +7
Key pre-deadline additions: Jonathan Lucroy, Carlos Beltran, Jeremy Jeffress, Lucas Harrell
Key players lost to injury since deadline: Shin-Soo Choo, Lucas Harrell
Record Since Trade Deadline: 10-6

With a seven-game cushion in the AL West and Derek Holland close to a return from the disabled list, the Rangers shouldn’t worry too much about the current void in their rotation with Lucas Harrell landing on the disabled list. They should be fine. And even with Shin-Soo Choo on the disabled list again and Prince Fielder’s career-ending neck surgery, they have plenty of offense. Power-hitting Joey Gallo is also waiting in the wings. Their bullpen has been strong in the second half, and adding Jeremy Jeffress only deepened it. While they can’t exactly coast into the playoffs, it’s hard to see this talented roster choking up this big of a lead.

If anything, they’ll just need to decide if Sam Dyson (two blown saves in last five chances; run allowed in four of last ten appearances) is the guy they want closing out games in the playoffs. They have a few other capable candidates, including Jeffress and Matt Bush.

Seattle Mariners
Current Place in Standings: 64-56; Wild Card deficit -3
Key pre-deadline additions: None
Key players lost to injury since deadline: James Paxton, Steve Cishek
Record Since Trade Deadline: 12-5

The Mariners did nothing at the trade deadline aside from adding struggling reliever Drew Storen and actually trading away Wade Miley and Mike Montgomery, but they’ve been one of the best teams in baseball since. Rookie closer Edwin Diaz has been a major reason, and the August pickup of Arquimedes Caminero looks shrewd thus far. James Paxton and Hisashi Iwakuma have carried the rotation with Felix Hernandez struggling at times and Taijuan Walker unable to take a step forward due to injuries and inconsistency.

With Paxton out for a minimum of 15 days due to an elbow contusion, the Mariners will continue to need contributions from the likes of Ariel Miranda, Cody Martin and Wade LeBlanc. They also need Walker to get straightened out in Triple-A so he can help down the stretch.

Houston Astros
Current Place in Standings: 61-60; Wild Card deficit -6.5
Key pre-deadline additions: None
Key players lost to injury since deadline: Colby Rasmus, Lance McCullers, Luke Gregerson, Preston Tucker
Record Since Trade Deadline: 6-11

After a disappointing start, the Astros silenced many doubters by winning 38 of 54 games between May 24-July 24. Concerns have returned, though, during their current run of 16 losses over their last 23 games. Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer continue to be great, but they’re not getting enough help from the rest of the lineup. Ken Giles is finally settling into the closer’s role, but Will Harris and Tony Sipp have struggled over the last month. Joe Musgrove has proven to be a capable replacement for Lance McCullers, who is sidelined with an elbow injury. The problem is that he’s been their best starting pitcher, by far.

The quartet of Dallas Keuchel, Collin McHugh, Doug Fister and Mike Fiers have combined for an ERA of close to 5.00 in the second half. Chris Devenski could get a look. So could Brady Rodgers, who has had a terrific season in Triple-A. But they need at least two of their current starters, preferably 2015 Cy Young award winner Keuchel, to turn things around or the Astros won’t have a chance.