With the addition of an extra wild-card team, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for GMs to decide whether their teams are contenders, so I’ve decided to do it for them.
Wednesday I examined three teams on the edge of contention, and explained why the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Indians should reload for 2013. Today we look at a trio of clubs who should use the July 31 trade deadline to rebuild instead of chasing postseason aspirations that in all likelihood won’t become reality.
The following three teams are in "rebuild" mode because they do not possess a strong enough core of players to allow them to compete this year even if they add a couple of complementary parts. For each club I have outlined their trade deadline strategy, trade chips and targets, as well as their dream deal.