Peter Gammons was on the radio this morning. He made the point that many teams, including the Cubs and White Sox, are pushing hard to trade their players before the July 31st deadline.
The reason is simple: you can sell (and therefore receive) more value to a trade partner if you complete a trade in June rather than the end of July. The team acquiring a pitcher like Matt Garza will get an extra 5 or 6 starts with his new club. Five or six quality starts could mean the difference between a wild card or a division title. A team acquiring a hitter to fill a need will get an extra 20 games or approximately 80 more at bats.
This is why the Rays have been actively shopping starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco, who is in a similar position as Garza being in the last year of his deal. If a team is looking for a "rent a pitcher," the first one to go to the team in need will have the best chance to play two or more teams off each other.
But the trade market may be soft this year. Teams have been concentrating more on the signing draft choices by the July 12th deadline and the international signing period which starts July 2nd than constructing mid-season trades. Even if a major league team needs a veteran, most teams now guard their top ten prospects as valuable assets.
