2013 MLB Trade Deadline

Part two of the 2013 MLB season premiered last night, and while the season is already 60 percent complete, there is still two-thirds of the league vying for 10 playoff spots. 

In the American League, the East is stacked with talent, pitting four teams within seven games of each other. The Central and West Divisions are largely two team races at the moment, but a key deadline move or winning streak could bring teams like the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Angels back to life.

With the July 31 trade deadline looming, less than two weeks remain for teams looking to make a non-waiver deal.

The deadline represents an integral period of time for both contending and rebuilding organizations. Contenders, like the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers, must decide if this year is theirs and sacrifice a bit of the future to improve the present.

The trade deadline is less than two weeks away and there is no doubt that several high-profile players will be changing teams before it passes. Players like Matt Garza, Cliff Lee and Chase Utley could all be dealt soon and may end up having huge impacts on playoff races.

Even the teams in first place coming out of the All-Star break know they have holes to fill, and now that there are two Wild Card spots, more teams feel they can make a run, and you can bet that the players on this list will be pursued heavily.

As the July 31 MLB trade deadline inches closer, the St. Louis Cardinals will have a few decisions to make to improve the best team in baseball at the time of writing.

As of June 27, the Seattle Mariners are 12 games out of first place. In this case, 12 is not a particularly good number. One could argue that 12 is a number that is too high to realistically overcome, even with months to go in the season.

Is the 2013 season on the brink of disaster? Will fans already be forced to start looking forward to 2014?

Just like many fans and analysts anticipated, the 2013 Chicago Cubs are struggling to stay relevant. If they have indeed decided to start shopping veteran players, as ESPN Insider Buster Olney reports, we must wonder which potential contenders will pursue their expendable talent.

Since the Barry Bonds era came to a close, the San Francisco Giants have been winning games because of top-notch starting pitching.

However, this season, it's been different. San Francisco's rotation has been horrendous, and the bullpen is falling apart. Surprisingly, the Giants are 35-31 and right in the thick of things in the NL West, but if they don't make improvements soon, they'll fall behind.