We're just under a month away from the July 30 MLB trade deadline -- and it's shaping up as one of the most unpredictable deadlines in a long time.
At the start of this week on Monday, just 5.5 games separated nine teams for the final two wild-card spots in the National League, with only the Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies definitely out of the playoff picture. In the American League, only three teams look out of it, although projected playoff contenders like the defending champion Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays are fading fast and need to start turning things around.
What happens on the field over the next 28 days will have a huge effect on what ultimately happens off it -- let alone the impact it will have on how aggressive some of those wild-card contenders may or may not be with their trades. Factoring in where teams are in the standings, let's name one major league player each team should trade for -- or away -- before the deadline.