Fansided

5 teams that should be buyers at the MLB trade deadline

By Baasil Ebrahim

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 24: (L-R) Gorkys Hernandez #7, Gregor Blanco #1 and Andrew McCutchen #22 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates defeating the Washington Nationals 4-3 at AT&T Park on April 24, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 24: (L-R) Gorkys Hernandez #7, Gregor Blanco #1 and Andrew McCutchen #22 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates defeating the Washington Nationals 4-3 at AT&T Park on April 24, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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An MLB team will always have the chance to turn impact their season by bringing in a key player at the trade deadline, these teams are candidates to do so.

MLB teams that should and need to be buyers via trade always fit one of two prototypes. Type 1 is a team overperforming that has found a way to stay in the race through the season and wants to be a true contender. Type 2 is a team that is doing well, as expected, but still has some holes in their roster they want to sure up to help secure their status as a World Series contender.

Both types of teams are still going to look at the same players. This year, there are some studs on the market that can be acquired. The crown jewel is Manny Machado. He’s in his last year in Baltimore and is having the best season of his career. Other big hitters on the market at Jose Abreu, Josh Donaldson, and Jed Lowrie. Chris Archer and Cole Hamels lead the talented starters available, while Kelvin Herrera, Zach Britton, and Brad Hand makeup the top bullpen targets. The following teams are in the best spot to acquire these.

5. San Francisco Giants

The Giants made it clear this offseason that they were trying to rekindle their even year magic. They’ve taken on the last year of Andrew McCutchen’s contract as well as at least 5 years of Evan Longoria. McCutchen is 31 now, and Longoria is 32 with at least 4 more years on his deal. Longoria got his deal from the Rays because of what he’s meant to the franchise after a year when he had his best season in 3 years. It was signed with the understanding that in a few years it’ll be a bad deal and the Giants will have to deal with that.

The Giants did all this to go for it with Madison Bumgarner who is in the last two years of his contract. Bumgarner became a playoff legend in 2014 and the Giants want to give him a chance to do it again.

Then, they started 8-12 and Madison Bumgarner was on the DL with a broken finger. It didn’t look good especially with the Diamondbacks and Rockies getting off to hot starts. The only solace they could take was that the Dodgers were down in the dumps with them. After winning 8 of their last 10, they’ve moved into a tie with the Dodgers for second place in the division, just 2.5 games back of the Diamondbacks. They have played their way back into playoff contention, now they need to make sure they stay there.

The Giants are still waiting for Johnny Cueto , Jeff Samardzija, and Brandon Belt to come back from the DL which will give a further boost to their team. With the 19th best offense and 22nd best pitching in the league, they need help on both sides of things. However, with much of the pitching coming without Bumgarner and currently without Cueto and Samardzija, they should look to offense. Someone like Khris Davis to play left field would be ideal for this team.

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