Teams will normally assess where they are in the standings much closer to the trade deadline on July 31st before deciding if they will be “buyers” or “sellers”. Yet, here we are in June and there are a handful of teams that have to feel like they are heading in the wrong direction and it’s getting close to “do or die” time.
Back in April, I made some arguments for why teams should consider making trades earlier in the season, if possible, with the few extra wins in the standings potentially being the difference between going to the playoffs or going home for the winter.
In these June trade ideas, the goal is for a team to avoid dropping out of contention and into “seller” mode by the end of July or, in some cases, to just make a trade a month earlier to try and win a few extra games. The challenge is finding a non-contending team—Astros, Brewers, Cubs, Marlins, Mets are included in this group—that has an impact player that they’re willing to trade now.
Here are three potential trades that should be made now.