Guess what? July 31st is the trade deadline. Stop jumping up and down…I know its exciting, but hold them horses, okay? Seeing as this is the most exciting time of the year aside from the playoffs and the days following the release of any Will Ferrell movie, I figure it might be fun (a good way to waste time) to make some predictions (!). I’m not always great with predictions, or I am but I predict a little too early. For example, I thought Robinson Cano and Francisco Liriano would be the AL MVP and Cy Young winners, respectively, in ’09. Year early, both are close this year. I did say the Rays were a force to be reckoned with in ’08 (Pre-blogging days, so just take my word on that). Okay, well let’s talk deadline:

Dan Uggla to the Rockies. Woody Paige suggested this earlier today, and well, it just makes sense. I’m a Coors Field regular and, man, that offense needs a boost. Personally, I just don’t like Brad Hawpe…his batting stance annoys me and even with his cannon, he’s not exactly Brett Gardner in right. Anyways, he’s not hitting like he should be. Ditto Todd Helton. The best Rox hitters right now are Miguel Olivo and Carlos Gonzalez now that Tulo’s on the DL. So, Uggla would add a little pop while Barmes slides over to sub at short until August. Then, when Tulo’s back, well Barmie becomes a backup infielder, a role he profiles for more of than being a regular. The Rox could send relievers, as Paige suggests, or some prospects (E.Young Jr, Chris Nelson,and  Rex Brothers are all possibilities).

Cliff Lee to Minnesota. Sorry guys, I just don’t see the Lee to New York rumors coming true until…say, Christmas time. The Bombers don’t need him that bad right now (although acquiring him would all but guarantee a World Series victory). The Twinkies, on the other hand, could really use an ace to put with Liriano atop the rotation, and they have a young catcher named Wilson Ramos who is blocked by some guy with sideburns on the big league roster. Seattle wants a young catcher. Makes sense, right? Lee will be fitted for pinstripes this holiday season, but he’ll be a Target Field favorite until then.

Roy Oswalt to the Rangers. Oswalt wants to be on a contender; Texas has the biggest division lead (3.5 games) of any other division leader. President Nolan Ryan wants Oswalt; Roy’s used to the heat in Texas; Texas has a stacked farm; the Astros are willing to absorb payroll; the Rangers can take on at least some payroll, more if their sale goes through soon. This all adds up to a trade making sense for both sides. The Rangers need a proven number one for the playoffs, and that should be Oswalt.

Adam LaRoche to the Giants. An in-division trade? You must be kidding. Look, LaRoche is a rental (Mutual option for next year, but mutual options aren’t usually agreed on because typically either the club thinks they can pay him less, or the player thinks he can get more). The D-Backs have thrown in the towel (or they should), so it isn’t like LaRoche would be killing playoff hopes. Anyways, LaRoche (as most people know) rocks the second half like I rock a tuxedo t-shirt. He just gets better as the summer progresses. The Giants need some offense, and it’s about time they give Buster Posey the full-time catching job and make Bengie Molina a backup. That moves Posey from first, opening it for LaRoche. Having LaRoche, Posey, Aubrey Huff, and Pablo Panda Sandoval in the middle of the lineup would give the club a much better chance at breaking ahead in the 4-way battle that is the National League West.

Xavier Nady to the Braves. Did you know the Cubs are 7 games back in the central (third place)? This offseason Ted Lilly, Derrek Lee, and Xavier Nady will be free agents. Aramis Ramirez is eligible, but has a player option that will overpay him next year, so look for him to activate that. Basically, what I’m trying to say is the Cubs don’t have a great chance of making the playoffs this year. Even if they did, dealing Nady helps because that way they can give more playing time to the more talented quarter of Kosuke Fukodome, Tyler Colvin, Alfonso Soriano, and Marlon Byrd (all signed beyond this season). Meanwhile, the Braves are top dogs in the NL East, but their offense isn’t quite as potent as they’d like. Nate McClouth was bad, and now injured. Matt Diaz is on the DL too. As much as I love the Melkman, he’s hitting .260/.319/.337. The Braves don’t want to deal away key pieces, or big prospects, so Nady would be a nice little upgrade for the outfield. He wouldn’t cost much more than the simple absorption of the $2mm or so(pending games played incentives) left on his contract plus a C-level prospect. Win-win deal. (If Nady doesn’t go to Atlanta, I could honestly see him coming back to the Bronx as a 4th outfielder. Better him than Russo, Huffman, and Curtis. Plus, Bomber fans love him, and he loved New York. Again, win-win).

Luke Scott to the Padres. Scott has just over 3 years of service time under his belt, so he’s under team control for a few more years. He’s making a mere $4.05mm this year, and hitting .276/.347/.505 in the pitching-friendly AL East. The NL West is also a pitching-heavy division, so the transition won’t be too tough. Plus AL to NL is usually a breeze. The Padres have been a huge surprise, leading the pack in the NL West. Their corner outfielders atop the depth chart, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Will Venable, though, are hitting .239/.283/.333 and .234/.308/.388 respectively. Scott is a nice upgrade in the lineup and could pair with Adrian Gonzalez to make the middle of the lineup, at least somewhat interesting. Kyle Blanks is on the DL and they have Scott Hairston, but Luke is better than them too, and would give the club that offensive punch they need to stay in the race.

Kelly Johnson to the Cardinals. The Cards are atop the NL Central, for now, but the Reds are looking strong and the injury bug hasn’t been so friendly to the Redbirds. Johnson isn’t making much this year, but is hitting decently, even with a little pop. Skip Schumaker has been nothing and less with a .251/.313/.320 line. The D-Backs aren’t going anywhere, so they might as well at least grab a B-grade prospect or two for Johnson. Johnson has just over 4 years of service time, so he’d be under team control until the off-season following next season at the earliest. I might be off, it could be one year after that. Either way, not a rental, thus the D-Backs could have something to gain, prospect-wise, for the second baseman.

Ted Lilly to Philadelphia. That whole dealing away Cliff Lee thing isn’t looking too good for the reigning NL Champs, is it? I doubt the Phils will even try and get Cliff back for a few months, although, I bet they might have a deal if they offered back the prospects they dealt for him the past winter. Anyways, I think it is more likely that Jim Hendry realizes that 2010, yet again, isn’t the Cubs’ year and starts planning for 2011. Lilly gives the Phils another reliable starter, something they could really use if they want to win the East. Lilly currently is lined up to be a Type A free agent, so the Cubs would likely want a return better than a first rounder and a compensation rounder. The Phils could give up some closer to the bigs prospects, and then use those draft picks to get some younger talent. (If Lee doesn’t go to Philly, I could see the Mets and Dodgers as other suitors).

Chris Iannetta to the Rangers. Miguel Olivo has been everything the Rockies possibly could’ve asked for this year; maybe the best catcher in the NL to date. So, Iannetta isn’t a necessity. The Rangers want a catcher, there’s a fit. The Rox could ask for any of these Texas triple-A players: 1B Chris Davis, 2B Esteban German, OF Brandon Boggs, P Omar Beltre, P Michael Kirkman, P Brandon McCarthy, P Guillermo Moscoso, P Zach Phillips, P Clay Rapada, P Pedro Strop. Any and all of those guys would be welcome additions to the franchise. Davis has struggled at the big league level, particularly with strikeouts, but he’s destroying triple-A with a .361/.414/.564 line with 8 homers in 202 ABs. With Justin Smoak officially the Texas first baseman of the future, Davis is expendable and the Rox need a bat, even if it means letting Todd Helton ride the pine for a while.

Those are some of the deals I see going down, I’m sure there’ll be others and some of these won’t happen (least certain about the Lilly to Philly deal; most certain about Lee to Minnesota).  Here are a few non-trade transactions that could happen.

Pedro signs with the Phillies. Pedro wants to pitch. Phillies could use a pitcher (more and more doubting my Lilly to Philly pick). They worked out last year (‘cept for Game 6 of the WS, Who’s your daddy, Pedro?). This just makes sense, although it needs to happen soon-ish, since Pedro will need at least a few weeks to get ready for the bigs.

Rockies release Jason Giambi. As extraordinarily muscular as Giambino is, he’s hitting .194/.348/.343. He’s got discipline, but can’t hit and can’t slug, that’s not good. Todd Helton isn’t hitting well either, and if they’re going to have a backup first-baseman and pinch-hitter it might as well be Brad Eldred (.268/.318/.559 at Triple-A with 16 bombs).

Jesus Montero heats up, makes his debut in August, and makes the playoff roster. The Yankees’ number one prospect has struggled so far this season (.239/.303/.387), but he’s hitting .351/.351/.676 over his last ten games. Word has it he’s getting better at the whole catching thing, and as his bat adjusts to triple-A and starts to, well, dominate Brian Cashman and company will have to consider promoting the guy with the same name as that fella from the Bible. Remember Joba in ’07? And David Price in ’08? And K-Rod in ’02? Well, Jesus could be like that, only in hitter form. He and Jorge could split time between catcher and DH, solidifying the lineup. This, of course, all hinges on Jesus getting red-hot in Scranton, but I think he will.

Jon Albaladejo becomes the most reliable non-Mariano reliever on the Yankee Staff once he’s promoted( soon-ish). The guy has struck out 45 in less than35 innings at triple-A. His ERA sits at 1.31, his WHIP is less than 1.00, and hitters are batting .156 off him. He should be called up, and I’m expecting him to be pretty damn good, finally.