Shane Bieber is out with an arm injury, and the Los Angeles Angels have doubled-down on keeping Shohei Ohtani and making a run at the playoffs this year. The Chicago Cubs have rolled up enough wins of late to make them think they’re still contenders, while the San Diego Padres have yet to wave the white flag despite still sitting 5 full games under the .500 mark.
The New York Yankees are in last place in their division, and they’re keen to be buyers. Every single team in existence barring the San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins is in search of starting pitching upgrades, while the two most accomplished names that probably should be on the trade block - Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander of the 48-54 New York Mets - are making more money this year than anyone ever (while carrying no-trade clauses on their giant contracts, too).