4 MLB teams who should be buyers at the trade deadline

The stunning trade that sent Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants not only left Boston Red Sox fans looking for an explanation, but it kicked Major League Baseball’s trade season into high gear.

With weeks to go until the Trade Deadline, all 30 teams are taking stock of where they sit in the standings, and determining whether they should be buyers, or sellers. For some teams, that decision is easy. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, for example, will look to add for a post-season push. On the other end of the spectrum teams like the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago White Sox are looking to build for the future.

Then there are some teams in the middle that could be persuaded in either direction. To that end, we are here to help. Here are four teams that are currently stuck in the middle, but should strongly consider being buyers ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline.

At first blush, one might not consider the Kansas City Royals as one of the teams that should be buyers ahead of the deadline. The Royals currently sit in fourth place in the AL Central, 11 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the loss column and 11.5 games back in the division.

But the Royals are just three games out of a Wild Card spot right now, even with a 34-38 record. One area Kansas City could look to add? Offense. Despite the call-up of Jac Caglianone the Royals would benefit from adding more help at the plate, as Kansas City enters play on Tuesday with a team OPS of just .668, fifth-worst in the league.

After making the World Series two seasons ago, and missing out on the playoffs in 2024 despite a 89-73 record, this year’s installment of the Arizona Diamondbacks are one of the more underwhelming teams so far this season. Back on May 19, the Diamondbacks were four games above .500 and just three games back in the NL West.

But a brutal stretch at the end of May that saw Arizona lose nine of ten games — starting with a walk-off loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers — dropped them to nine games back in the division.

Right now Arizona has crawled back into the fight, thanks to a 9-4 start to June, and the Diamondbacks are within 6.5 games of the Dodgers in the West. And with Arizona just three games out of a Wild Card spot, addition makes more sense than subtraction.

Where can the Diamondbacks add? Pitching. Losing both ace Corbin Burnes and hard-throwing reliever Justin Martinez to ACL injuries was tough on Arizona, and adding some help would be a wise investment.

Depending on where you look, Cleveland’s playoff odds have taken a big hit in recent weeks. ESPN has the Guardians at just a 28.5% chance to make the playoffs — down from a previous mark of 40.9% — while Baseball-Reference gives them just a 25% chance.

Still, the Guardians are just one game out in the Wild Card chase at the moment, which makes it tough to see Cleveland become sellers at the deadline.

Two areas of concern? The offense, and the bullpen. Closer Emmanuel Clase has taken a step back this year, with his three blown saves to date matching his total from 2024. On the offensive side of things, Cleveland’s team OPS of .678 is seventh-worst in the league, and the Guardians begin play on Tuesday with a run differential of -26.

Location, location, location.

Those words matter in real estate, they matter in pitching and sometimes, they matter when it comes to your place in the standings.

The Texas Rangers sit at .500 right now, but that has them just five games back in the AL West, and only one game out of a Wild Card spot. Their playoff odds might be sub-20% depending on where you look (ESPN gives them an 18.4% chance of a playoff spot) but they are just one good series from being in Wild Card position, and have won seven of their last ten games.

They also have nine games left against the AL West-leading Houston Astros, and seven games left with the Seattle Mariners, the other team ahead of them in the West.

Stop me if you have heard this before, but adding to their lineup would be a help. The Rangers have a team OPS of just .666, the fourth-worst mark in the league.