Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning you’ll get a fresh, topical column to start your day from one of SI.com’s MLB writers.
The second week of July marks a turning point in the baseball calendar. The All-Star break is just days away, and with it comes an increase in trade-deadline news and rumors.
Soon, names of veterans and prospects alike will be talk-radio fodder, and anonymous quotes from front office personnel will permeate the sports pages. Pool-chair general managers will concoct deals of varying levels of practicality and call for rich people to spend the money of other, even wealthier people.