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The MLB trade deadline is nearly upon us with there less than a week to go for teams to make deals that could help their charge for a championship or reduce salary demands ahead of the offseason.
Whilst much of the talk is around just where Shohei Ohtani will end up, there are a lot of other deals that are likely to happen, even if they will be considered less high-profile than that involving the Japanese superstar.
However, just which teams are likely to be active in the coming days?
MLB trade activity
New York Yankees
Losing Aaron Judge has been a disaster for the Yankees and they are in desperate need of outfield reinforcements.
With Judge's spot in left field having been left virtually vacant, the team are expected to recruit one such player before the deadline.
Initial hopes were that they could simply wait for Judge to return, but after falling nine games behind the Tampa Bay Rays and 2.5 games behind the wild-card spots, there are worries that it could be a lost season.
The most likely candidate currently is Rockies outfield Randal Grichuk, who will be a free agent in the offseason, so it is relatively low-risk for the Yankees.
Chicago Cubs + White Sox
The Cubs are looking to move some of their pitchers out of the club before the deadline and could have a perfect trading partner in the form of the Houston Astros.
With that being said Marcus Stroman is on the market with his decision to opt out of his contract beyond 2023 leaving the Cubbies in a difficult spot.
The other Chicago team, the White Sox, also have pitchers who can help the Astros and they may be forced to let Dylan Cease depart with his form in 2023 falling way short of last year where he finished second in Cy Young voting.
Baltimore Orioles
The 2023 season has thus far been a whirlwind adventure for the Baltimore Orioles.
Traditionally a team that is battling near the bottom of Major League Baseball and losing any stars they happen to develop, the team is currently atop the American League and are dreaming of a world series berth.
As such, they are in the rare position of looking at the trade deadline as an opportunity to strengthen rather than shed contracts.
With the offense being up there with the very best in baseball, the Orioles could do with some pitching help. For a team with title hopes, having the seventh-highest ERA in baseball from their starting pitchers is a huge concern.
They will not be able to win with that in the playoffs and as such will look to move for an elite-level closing pitcher as well as Kyle Hendricks from the Cubs.