2014 MLB Trade Deadline

Slowly but surely, MLB trade rumors are swirling faster by the day.

The deadline is now just over a month away. The rumors mill began quiet, but noise will continue to pick up as teams' desperation rises for one last piece of their championship-push puzzles.

Here's the latest trade buzz from around the league.

LHP David Price, Tampa Bay Rays

The official non-waiver trade deadline may be July 31, but trade season really kicks into gear once the calendar turns over to July and often stretches well into August, with guys like Jake Peavy and Alex Rios being dealt through waivers last year.

There has already been no shortage of speculation as to who could be on the move this summer, but that second wild-card spot in each league could complicate things once again this year, as more teams will stand pat or be buyers in hopes of making a second-half run.

Despite a 32-38 record, the Boston Red Sox are still only 5.5 games back of a playoff spot in the American League.  Barring a complete collapse, the Red Sox figure to be buyers when the July 31 MLB trade deadline arrives.  With that in mind, what are Boston's greatest needs going forward, as they look to stay alive in the postseason race?

Life clings to the Boston Red Sox like a disease.

At 30-36 and eight games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays, they are unlikely to make the playoffs this season. Yet they keep winning just often enough to keep them on the periphery of relevancy at 4.5 games back of a wild-card spot, and this is a team with enough natural talent to make a run.

The July 31 non-waiver trade deadline may seem like it's still a ways off, but considering the trade market really starts to heat up when the calendar turns over to July, we're just a couple of weeks from the rumor mill kicking into full swing.

There is still some work to be done as far as teams establishing themselves as buyers or sellers, with a number of clubs hovering around the .500 mark, but a fairly decent picture can already be painted of what teams will be looking to do in July.

The 2014 MLB trade deadline is still two months away, but it's never too early to get the rumor mill churning. There is still a lot of baseball to be played, as most teams have not yet established themselves as buyers or sellers. But we can already start to paint a picture of who will be available at the July 31 non-waiver deadline.

It will still be another month and a half before the MLB trade market kicks into full gear, but it's never too soon to start speculating as to who could be on the move this July.

What follows is my take on the 10 best players likely to find themselves on the trade market and perhaps on the move to new teams at some point in the season ahead.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Miami Marlins have a 20-18 record, good for third place in the National League East. However, they could be losing one of their biggest stars.

Baseball's rumor mill is just beginning to spin as we enter the second month of the 2014 season, and with the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline only a blip on the horizon at the moment, more rumors will sprout up with each passing day.

Over the next 12 weeks, injuries to key contributors, prospects bursting onto the scene and teams near the bottom of the standings all but throwing in the towel will dictate which squads truly are buyers and sellers—but it's never too early to take a look at which role each team projects to occupy.