Opinion

Based on the latest buzz around the league, we could experience an exciting final few days before the MLB trade deadline.

A handful of big names are on the trading block, which means a wide list of teams are doing whatever they can to complete a deal. As the contenders are all trying to improve for the playoff push, there could be some desperate bargaining in the coming days.

Choose your numbers carefully when evaluating what Chris Archer has become this season for the Tampa Bay Rays and what he could become in the future.

The bloated ERA (4.42) tells you he hasn't been nearly as good as he was the previous three seasons. He's also giving up more hits than he ever has (8.6 per nine innings), more home runs than he ever has (1.5 per nine innings) and the most walks since he was a rookie (3.5 per nine innings).

Cole Hamels never really came close to winning a Cy Young Award when he was in the National League. He placed in the voting four times, but never higher than fifth. The competition was just too good.

So, maybe being in the American League and part of a race with too much competition is just the ticket he needs.

About two-thirds of the teams around Major League Baseball are still within striking distance of a postseason berth heading into the Aug. 1 trade deadline. It should make for an entertaining couple of days as teams seek a deal to bolster their chances.

The lack of front offices already looking ahead to the future should be great news for teams that are definitively in selling mode, too. They should be able to demand top dollar for their assets to acquire pieces that can help next season and beyond.

MLB's August 1 non-waiver trade deadline is fast approaching, and as of Thursday morning, we haven't seen any crazy deals go down. 

However, that's what the weekend is for. 

The MLB trade deadline is on Monday, Aug. 1—a day later than usual since the typical date of July 31 falls on a Sunday this year.

As we inch closer to the Major League Baseball trade deadline, rumors surrounding the top available players only grow more intense.

It seems to be a sellers' market at this stage with a lot more teams hoping to improve in the next week than those willing to look toward the future. There will be a heavy bidding war on the few impact players on the block, causing prices to keep rising leading up to August 1.

Including this one, the New York Yankees have been winners in each of the last 24 seasons. That's meant 24 years of buying or staying the course at the trade deadline, as one does when one is a winner.

So go figure that doing the opposite before the August 1 deadline is exactly what the Yankees need now. This is a franchise in need of a turning point, and only by selling will it find it.

The Colorado Rockies don't have to trade Carlos Gonzalez.

He's under contract through 2017, and he's having an All-Star season.

If Colorado is serious about a rebuild and wants to maximize CarGo's value, however, the moment for a blockbuster deal could be now or never.

There's nothing wrong with protecting your prospects. If the Washington Nationals hadn't held on to Trea Turner, they wouldn't have beaten the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.