2014 MLB Trade Deadline

Ah, the trade deadline.

It's that time of year where fans obsessively refresh Twitter and the careers of many baseball players and executives hang in the balance. 

Due to the addition of the second wild card to postseason play, the amount of teams willing to trade off notable pieces has declined. With more teams in the hunt to play in October, there are fewer impact players available on the market that buyers can go after.

As the MLB trade deadline approaches, the pressure is on for teams to bolster their organizations for the final push to the postseason.

With the MLB trade deadline approaching in two days, speculation surrounding the biggest names on the market figures to reach a fever pitch shortly. With tight races in five of the six divisions, the plethora of teams in contention should create a seller's market for the organizations that have decided to build for the future.

The Seattle Mariners made their first move of the trade-deadline season on Thursday, acquiring Kendrys Morales from the Minnesota Twins.

A year or two ago, Chase Headley would have fetched a king’s ransom in a trade. That was not the case on Tuesday.

The New York Yankees and San Diego Padres agreed to send the third baseman to the Bronx, according to a tweet from Jon Heyman of CBS Sports:

Despite an injury-plagued first half of the season for the New York Yankees, the team is still very much in the American League East race, and it appears they will be buyers at this season's trade deadline.

With a mere nine days remaining until the MLB trade deadline on July 31, rumors are swirling around multiple contenders and pretenders around the league.

A few surprise teams like the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers are well outside of the mix and looking to move veteran players. Then there are franchises looking to make the postseason this year hoping to add those valuable assets.

Superstar players generally steal the headlines at the trade deadline, and this year is no different with guys like David Price, Cole Hamels, Ben Zobrist and Alex Rios receiving the bulk of the attention.

That being said, there are always at least a few under-the-radar moves made in July that wind up as notable differences for contenders.

The Detroit Tigers' addition of Jose Veras, the Atlanta Braves' addition of Elliot Johnson and the Tampa Bay Rays' addition of David DeJesus come to mind as significant deals from a year ago.

With the 2014 Major League Baseball trade deadline quickly approaching, the Cleveland Indians find themselves in a curious position. The team is currently three games over .500 and 4.5 games back of the division-leading Detroit Tigers.

With the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline rapidly approaching, the question on everyone’s mind is whether the Tampa Bay Rays will trade David Price.

Should the Rays deal the Cy Young Award-winning left-hander, they are likely to receive a bounty of young talent (mostly prospects) in return. The team that acquires Price should get a big boost heading toward the playoffs.

However, as you'll see in the case studies below, trades are not always even.