In baseball, the season can be broken down into three stages that form the backbone of each campaign, setting the stage for present and future success.
April and May serve as a tentative, conservative stage in which big moves rarely happen, managers don’t sit on hot seats and executives spend countless hours preparing for the June draft. By the time August and September arrive, the work is done and the best teams rise to the top.
During June and July on a yearly basis, however, championships are won or lost. After assessing the strengths and weaknesses of respective 25-man rosters, conducting an entire draft and racking up cellphone minutes with general managers around the league, business commences as the summer kicks into high gear.
With June approaching and every division race up for grabs, the following is a look at projecting which teams will emerge as buyers and sellers over the next few weeks. While more will surely join as performance fluctuates, four teams stand out as examples right now.
Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted and are accurate through the start of play on May 31. All contract figures courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Roster projections via MLB Depth Charts.