Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics own the best record in baseball but are currently fighting through injuries to critical players, most notably outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.

When you've got (arguably) the best team in baseball, the best manager in baseball and the best general manager in baseball, the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline would seem to be a rather irrelevant date on the calendar.

But if there's one thing that we've learned about the Oakland A's under the stewardship of GM Billy Beane, it's that the team rarely passes up an opportunity to improve, regardless of their place in the standings.

Generally speaking, the Oakland A's are a very good baseball team—one of the best teams in baseball during the 2014 regular season. But if they want to legitimately compete for a World Series title, there are a few things they must shore up.

Don't mistake that statement as doubt.

It’s always quite an intense battle between these two California foes. The Bay Area’s Oakland Athletics taking on SoCal’s Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim in a matchup between the American League West’s top two teams; and the series was every bit as competitive as expected between these intrastate adversaries.

The Oakland Athletics announced Tuesday that they are placing outfielder Josh Reddick on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive June 1.

The Oakland Athletics are in first place in the AL West through a little more than a quarter of the season. The Athletics have won the division the past two years, but is this the year they finally go deep into the playoffs?

The A's lost two key pitchers early in the season in A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker, but had a great free-agent signing in Scott Kazmir. If the A's pitching staff can keep it up, expect to see Bob Melvin and Billy Beane's club go deep in the playoffs. 

The Oakland A’s deserve some much-needed home cooking, particularly after the grueling three-game series against the Boston Red Sox over the weekend. All three games were intense, as the A’s were strongly tested by the World Series champions.

The Oakland Athletics are off to a hot start after one month of baseball. So, too, are some of their minor league prospects. But it might not be the guys you'd immediately expect to see.