Several top-tier teams still looking to make moves

6/29/10: MLB.com takes a look at some of the NL players that may be available at the non-waiver Trade Deadline
By Tom Singer / MLB.com

07/14/10 5:21 PM ET

From the standpoint of competition and impossible dreaming, Major League Baseball has never had an All-Star Game pit stop quite like this one. What that means for the next two weeks leading to the non-waiver Trade Deadline: Frenzy.

When the game paused, 17 of the 30 Major League teams were within five games of their respective division\'s lead, a jam unsurpassed in the 17 seasons since the leagues splintered into three divisions in 1994.

Even the fervor of these tremendous pennant races will be nothing compared to how they will make general managers\' hearts race through July 31. Those tough calls just became excruciating; more than ever before, GMs will have to choose their side of the counter -- buyer or seller -- based on projections and feel.

That will be a difficult call, because optimistic fans will be able to hold the Chicago White Sox over their GMs\' heads: The South Siders seemed certain Trade Deadline sellers a month -- and a 25-5 run -- ago. Hello, first place.

There is a flip-side to the bunched standings, of course: Teams in the bottom half look at having to rally past too many clubs, hence will look at swapping marketable players for a brighter future.

And teams in the top-tier scrums will try to take advantage of the motivated sellers to step on it.

The first leaders to go for the jugular were Texas\' Jon Daniels, with Cliff Lee, and Atlanta\'s Frank Wren, who swung a deal for veteran Toronto shortstop Alex Gonzalez a few hours after his league gained World Series home-field advantage in the All-Star Game.

Next? It will be frenetic.

The Brewers could be this summer\'s Cleveland Indians -- a major source of pennant insurance the past couple of years, endowing contenders with CC Sabathia, Casey Blake, Rafael Betancourt, Victor Martinez, Carl Pavano and Lee.

Milwaukee could consider moving Prince Fielder because he\'s getting costly, and Corey Hart because his market may never be higher.

Fielder is a top-shelf offensive player who has the Brewers at least in listening mode. Some otherwise-interested teams might be wary of him coming in a package deal with Scott Boras: The agent has already compared the post-2011 free agent\'s next contract to the Yankees deal he scored for Mark Teixeira.

Trading someone a season-and-a-half before his free agency usually brings more in return, circumstances which also affect Hart. But there is nothing clear-cut about this evolving market.

Will this trade market be volatile? How\'s this for volatility? Hart\'s trade value probably fluctuated Monday night, even without anybody playing. In the middle of the State Farm Home Run Derby.

The Giants, perhaps one big bat from having the most balance of any of the National League West brawlers, were quoted pitchers Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner as the price for Hart, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. One could imagine Giants GM Brian Sabean being intrigued as Hart launched 13 long balls in the first round of the Derby -- then shaking his head as Hart drew his second-round blank.

But the Brewers aren\'t the only peddlers. The standings assigns that role. The other foremost sellers figure to be Arizona, which is in full revamp mode, and the Astros, with two established stars who effectively placed themselves on the market long ago by voicing willingness to waive no-trade clauses -- right-hander Roy Oswalt and first baseman Lance Berkman.

Other teams whose ears have been opened by double-digit deficits in the standings are the Pirates (targeted: closer Octavio Dotel), the Orioles (infielder Ty Wigginton), the Marlins (second baseman Dan Uggla, infielder Jorge Cantu, outfielder Cody Ross), the Cubs (lefty Ted Lilly, first baseman Derrek Lee) the Royals (outfielder David DeJesus) and the Nationals (first baseman Adam Dunn).

The Mariners (closer Dave Aardsma), the Blue Jays (relievers Scott Downs and Kevin Gregg) and the Indians (starters Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook, infielder Jhonny Peralta, closer Kerry Wood) still have other movable parts.

Beyond the names, it become a matter of matchups, finding the ideal trade partner.

Having so many high-end first basemen and other infielders on the perceived market is interesting, with many contenders dealing with the long-term injury absences of their own infield mainstays.

The Red Sox are without second baseman Dustin Pedroia (left foot fracture), the Phillies are without second baseman Chase Utley (surgery for sprained right thumb ligament), the Rockies are without shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (fractured left wrist) and the Angels won\'t have first baseman Kendry Morales (surgery on fractured left leg) until 2011.

Those are significant holes -- but how high a price is a team willing to pay for a short-term bridge, as opposed to a long-term solution?

\"Our philosophy is not to bring someone in here for two or three months and empty your cupboard in the Minor Leagues to do it,\" said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. \"So therefore the pool gets smaller and smaller as to players you can acquire.\"

That would seem to put someone like Carlos Delgado on the Angels\' radar: The free-agent slugger remained unsigned after undergoing hip surgery on Feb. 15, at which time the prognosis for his return to playing condition was six months.

A couple of other still-unsigned free agents who could impact the mainstream market are outfielder-DH Gary Sheffield and right-hander Pedro Martinez, who might reprise his second-half re-entry of last season with the Phillies.

The pursuit of pitching will boil down to an auction, as it always does, because hunger for the commodity is insatiable. The Yankees demonstrated that with their try for Lee -- on top of already having the only big-league staff with a trio of 11-game winners.

Available veterans with prototypical stretch-drive arms include Oakland\'s Ben Sheets and Baltimore\'s Kevin Millwood, currently on the DL with a strain in his right forearm.

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.