Questions for AL clubs ahead of the Trade Deadline

The Trade Deadline will arrive one month from Sunday, giving the buyers and sellers -- and, more importantly, the teams currently sitting on that bubble -- about four weeks to figure out what moves they need to make by July 30.

With 22 teams sitting within four games of a postseason berth entering the weekend, the trade scene is as muddled as ever. The results over the next few weeks will surely determine which direction many teams will take, but with one month to go, there are a number of questions that need to be answered before we know what things will look like heading into the stretch run.

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This weekend, MLB.com will look at a number of questions to consider as we approach the month-long run to July 30, starting with the American League.

The White Sox will be sellers; how much will they sell?
You can argue that Chicago’s sell-off began during Spring Training, when new general manager Chris Getz dealt Dylan Cease to the Padres. Now that the White Sox are on pace for a 120-loss season, it only makes sense for Getz to finish the tear-down and begin building up a farm system that ranked No. 20 in the Majors, according to MLB Pipeline, prior to the season. For a team struggling to the degree that the White Sox are, Chicago’s roster has some players that will be very appealing to contenders.

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Garrett Crochet has been a revelation since his move to the rotation this season, while Luis Robert Jr. might be the best outfielder available this summer. Both players are under club control for at least two more seasons (Crochet through 2026 and Robert through 2027), while hard-throwing Michael Kopech has one more year of control, which should allow the White Sox to bring back nice prospect packages for any (or all?) of them. Erick Fedde, Paul DeJong and Tommy Pham are also potential trade chips for a club that should be one of the most active in the coming weeks.

What should be the Yankees’ biggest priority?
For a team that has been among the best in the game all season, the Yankees have an alarming number of issues with a month to go until the Trade Deadline. Gleyber Torres and D.J. LeMahieu have struggled for most of the year, while Anthony Rizzo -- who is likely in his final season in pinstripes -- is out for two months. Even Jasson Domínguez, who was a backup plan waiting at Triple-A, is set to miss about two months with an oblique injury, leaving the Yankees scrambling to replace Giancarlo Stanton during his current injured list stint.

First base should be a position the Yankees try to improve upon, while adding a power bullpen arm or two would also help New York as it tries to fight off Baltimore in the AL East. The Yankees may be one of the few teams not looking to add to the rotation, at least not if Gerrit Cole can prove that his elbow is sound and healthy. That said, general manager Brian Cashman has some work to do if he hopes to see his team end its 14-year championship drought. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto can’t do it all by themselves.

Do the Mariners all of a sudden need rotation depth?
Adding an impact bat remains a need for Seattle, but given the hamstring injury that landed Bryan Woo on the injured list and Bryce Miller’s recent struggles (5.20 ERA over his last eight starts), it appears that the Mariners might need to add an arm to their rotation for the stretch run.

Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby remain a rock-solid 1-2-3, but what if one of them goes down with an injury? The Mariners have seen their AL West lead dwindle from 10 games to only 4 1/2 in a week’s time, and given that the Astros and Rangers figure to get better by the Deadline, Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto may need to make a move or two in order to keep his club atop the division.

Can the Orioles get the starter they need?
Corbin Burnes (9-3, 2.28 ERA) and Grayson Rodriguez (9-3, 3.72 ERA) are a solid 1-2 punch atop the rotation, but season-ending injuries to Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells have thinned out Baltimore’s staff in a major way. Cole Irvin has struggled after a strong start (4.93 ERA in his last seven outings), while Albert Suárez has been hit hard in his past two outings and Cade Povich is only four starts into his career.

If any club has the goods to make a big deal, it’s the Orioles, who were ranked No. 1 in MLB Pipeline’s organizational rankings entering the season. Even after graduating Rodriguez, Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg in the past year (not to mention trading both DL Hall and Joey Ortiz for Burnes), Baltimore still has four of the top 20 prospects in baseball (No. 1 Jackson Holliday, No. 12 Samuel Basallo, No. 18 Coby Mayo and No. 20 Heston Kjerstad). If GM Mike Elias wants to overwhelm the White Sox for Crochet, he has the assets to do so.

Are the Athletics really willing to trade Mason Miller?
Oakland is one of the five sure-fire sellers this summer, and while players such as Brent Rooker, Miguel Andujar, Austin Adams and Scott Alexander figure to draw interest, none will bring back the type of haul that Miller would.

The hard-throwing righty has five more years of club control, which puts every team in the league in play in terms of being able to fit him into their present and future plans, but the Athletics will be looking for a huge package of prospects to trade the 25-year-old. Will Oakland have the stomach to trade its most exciting player? For the right deal, anything is possible.

Will the Blue Jays become big sellers?
The Blue Jays’ 37-43 record had them looking at a 6 1/2-game deficit in the AL Wild Card race entering Friday. The question GM Ross Atkins must answer is how aggressive the club will be for the 2025 season or whether it’s time to begin a rebuild.

If it’s the latter, that could put players such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt and Jordan Romano -- all of whom will be free agents at the end of the 2025 season -- in play for potential deals. Throw in Kevin Gausman (signed through 2026), and the Blue Jays have some big-time assets that could help restock a farm system that ranked No. 24 by MLB Pipeline before the season. Toronto also has a number of impending free agents (Justin Turner, Yusei Kikuchi, Yimi García, Danny Jansen and Trevor Richards) that could find themselves on the move.

Do the Guardians have enough offense?
Cleveland called up Jhonkensy Noel earlier this week, and the club's No. 26 prospect went deep in his first at-bat. If Noel can be consistent at the plate, he could take some pressure off of the front office in its search for an outfield bat, though the Guardians will have a relatively small sample size from which to make that determination prior to July 30.

If Noel (or possibly prospects Kyle Manzardo and Johnathan Rodriguez) proves to be the answer offensively, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti will spend the next few weeks focusing on the starting rotation, which lost Shane Bieber early in the season and is awaiting the return of Gavin Williams. Outside of Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively, the rest of the rotation (which now includes the recently signed Matthew Boyd) has battled inconsistency for much of the season, making a starter a top priority -- as long as the offense has enough internal answers.

Can the Royals find bullpen help -- and how much will it cost?
Kansas City has been one of the biggest surprises of the 2024 season, putting itself into contention sooner than many expected. What general manager J.J. Picollo does between now and the Trade Deadline could determine whether the Royals can push past the Guardians and Twins in the AL Central (or stay in position for a Wild Card berth).

The Royals’ biggest need at the moment appears to be in the bullpen. Kansas City’s farm system ranked at No. 28 entering the season, according to MLB Pipeline, with catcher Blake Mitchell (No. 69) representing the lone Top 100 prospect. How aggressive will Picollo get to add bullpen help? The Royals’ window of contention is just getting started, so sacrificing prospects for a 2024 run could impact how long that window stays open.

Will the Rays hang onto this year at the expense of future seasons?
When the Rays have been in position to win the division, they have shown a willingness to aggressively add, focusing more on the present than the future -- trading Joe Ryan for Nelson Cruz in 2021 and Manzardo for Aaron Civale last year, for example. Tampa Bay’s 40-41 record had it staring at a double-digit deficit in the AL East entering Friday, though there's only a four-game spread between the club and a Wild Card spot.

With the most expensive roster they have ever put together, it seems unlikely that the Rays would be in position to add much salary before the Deadline, and given their -56 run differential, will it be enough to improve on the margins? Tampa Bay has some appealing assets to trade if it decides to sell -- Randy Arozarena, Brandon Lowe, Pete Fairbanks and Zach Eflin chief among them -- potentially setting them up in better position for 2025 and beyond. The Rays have another month to prove they can be as competitive as they expected to be heading into the season.