Baseball - American League Buyers and Sellers

Here is my take on who will be buying and who will be selling in the American League as the baseball trade deadline approaches.

AL East

Boston - Buyer; the Sox need bullpen help and a back-up infielder to replace the ineffective Ramon Vazquez. The Sox are in first and Curt Schilling is coming back which will move Wakefield or probably Arroyo to the bullpen. Outside shot that Theo Epstein goes for a closer.

Baltimore - Buyer; the O's need a starting pitcher and maybe a first baseman. Gibbons has just a .301 OBP and a .795 OPS. Said to be actively pursuing Jason Schmidt of the Giants.

New York - Buyer; they need a centerfielder (badly), 1st base, starter and bullpen help. They really need to admit that Tony Womack was a mistake and move on. Said to be actively pursuing Mark Kotsay but may settle on Juan Encarnacion, Randy Winn or Preston Wilson. Also said to be active in pursuit of AJ Burnett. Possibly Cashman's last hurrah - so he may empty the cupboards to make deals (no matter the Yankees don't make the playoffs this year).

Toronto - Buyer/Seller; actually a pretty solid team with very few holes. It is rumored that they turned down a Ryan Howard for Ted Lilly trade. I could see them moving Eric Hinske and his $3.1 million salary because they have a logjam of talent at 1st and 3rd base. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Jays make a run for the Wild Card.

Tampa Bay - Seller; Aubrey Huff, Danny Baez, Alex Gonzalez and possibly Toby Hall may all have new addresses soon. Baez is the most attractive player. These players also represent 4 of the top 5 salaries for the cheapskate Rays (hey since skate is another name for a ray - how about the Tampa Bay Devil Skates?).

AL Central

Chicago - Buyer; just by dint of where they are in the standings. People keep talking about them moving Carl Everett but why would a 1st place team screw with team chemistry? I may have to rethink my premise that GM Kenny Williams is a moron.

Minnesota - Buyer; they could use a big bat and a 2nd baseman. Rumor is they would take Bret Boone from Seattle with the Mariners picking up most of the tab. 3rd is also a possibility for upgrade for the Twins. Michael Cuddyer is no great shakes and maybe this is as good as he gets? Cuddyer is awful on the road and he's hurt. Maybe Eric Hinske would be an upgrade? It should be noted that Bret Boone's best days are past him but even at his best he wasn't great at the Metrodome (.271 BA / .755 OPS career).

Cleveland - Buyer; many people picked them to win the division in preseason. They are starting to put it together. Some people have them trading Arthur Rhodes but why would they in the middle of a Wild Card race? Well besides the fact that Rhodes makes $3.7 million?

Detroit - Seller; they won't admit to being a seller but hey they already moved Uggie Urbina. How's that Magglio Ordonez signing making out for ya? Could Dmitri Young be all done in Motown?

Kansas City - Seller; Mike Sweeney is the big name and he's off the DL. He's also the big salary ($11 million this year). Other chips for KC include Tony Graffinino (who can play all the infield positions and is hitting .308), Jeremy Affeldt (who can close and is only 26) and maybe Terrence Long (he has the second highest salary on the Royals). Matt Stairs would be a nice pinch hitter for someone and Jose Lima could be had for a bucket of used baseballs.

AL West

Angels - Buyer; they could use some pitching help. They would be very dangerous if they picked up a Schmidt or a Burnett. I don't pretend to know the Angels like Pearly Gates does but it looks like they could use a pinch-hitting HR threat off the bench like Matt Stairs.

Texas - Buyer / Seller; they could go either way. I think they will fade (especially if they will be losing Rogers for 4 starts). They could either try and get a stud starter or they could go the other way and try to unload Soriano. If they allow John Wasdin to start more than two more games - then that's a clear sign that they have decided to quit on the year.

Oakland - Buyer / Seller; don't look now but they're only 4 games out of the Wild Card. The A's have perhaps the best starting pitching in the league. I think they need a big bat and I don't see them trading Mark Kotsay even if they can't reach an agreement with him. Billy Beane would really like to stick it to his detractors by winning 90+ games this year. Barry Zito isn't going anywhere either. I have them listed as a buyer/seller because you can never tell what Beane will do.

Seattle - Seller; Randy Winn, Pokey Reese, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Bret Boone, and Eddie Guardado are all in play. I don't see Jamie Moyer waiving his 10/5 veto rights to go anywhere. How's that Adrian Beltre signing working out for ya? Sports and Bremertonians can't wait for football season.