Fan News

The second half of Major League Baseball's season is just getting underway. For a batch of teams who either went to the playoffs last year or had such aspirations this October, that's good news.

With a little more than two-fifths of the year, not to mention the July 31 trade deadline, still to go, both time and opportunity remain for such teams to try to turn it around by getting better performances, better health or even better players via trade.

With the Major League Baseball trade deadline rapidly approaching—July 31, in case you were unaware—it's become increasingly clear that the Cincinnati Reds need something, anything to get them to the next level in order to compete for a division title and possibly a World Series championship.

The Angels have made a serious push for the playoffs after adding Huston Street to solidify the bullpen. The San Diego Padres provided details on the six-player trade to that transpired late Saturday night:

During the All-Star break, Huston Street told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times he'd "love to" play for the Los Angeles Angels.

Wish granted.

There's seldom good news when a player is ruled out for the rest of the season.

The signing deadline for 2014 draft picks officially passed Friday at 5 p.m. ET, and the Houston Astros were not able to sign No. 1 overall pick Brady Aiken, according Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). He also reports that the Astros failed to sign fifth-rounder Jacob Nix and 21st-rounder Mac Marshall.

The MLB All-Star break came and went, and now the 30 major league franchises have no choice but to stare down the rest of the season and decide whether they are in the buyers or sellers camp in 2014.

July 31 is the trade deadline, and teams would be loathe to linger on the deals that can either set them up for future success or bring in the high-caliber talent that will put them over the top in their respective divisions. 

The Houston Astros and left-handed pitcher Brady Aiken, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft, need each other more than ever. Unfortunately, as has been the case so many times this year, injuries left Aiken's future in doubt. 

Things ended up turning for the worse, as the Astros have reportedly failed to sign Aiken after the pitcher was diagnosed with a ligament issue in his throwing arm. The team will now have the second overall pick in the 2015 draft.

New York Yankees fans will want to clear their calendars on Sept. 7 as the team will celebrate the career of Derek Jeter.

The July 31 MLB trade deadline is less than two weeks away.