BLS Roundtable: Which team must make a deal on trade-deadline day?

It's officially Major League Baseball's trade-deadline day. Many of the big names of trade season are off the board already. That includes Cole Hamels, David Price, Johnny Cueto and Carlos Gomez. But lots of talent is still on the market too — Yoenis Cespedes, Carlos Gonzalez, Yovani Gallardo, almost any of the San Diego Padres.

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Likewise, there are a number of teams who would still use a boost heading into the postseason run. The Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals have been the most active traders so far, but plenty of teams still could use a boost heading into their attempts at making the postseason. Making the right move could be the difference between October and early vacations. With that, the Big League Stew crew is here to pick five teams that most need to strike a deal to improve themselves before the 4 p.m. ET deadline.

After you've read this, head over to our Trade Deadline Tracker for up-to-the-second news and rumors from what should be a busy day of wheeling and dealing.

METS
It's like the New York Mets don't even realize they could be a serious contender. Their trade-deadline season has been as such: minor trade to get Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe, almost trading for Carlos Gomez, watching that fall apart, then spending about 12 hours attacking social media. Get it together, Mets! They're 52-50, three games back in the NL East and 4.5 back for a wild card if the season ended today.

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Just look over at the San Francisco Giants. Their World Series runs are proof that good pitching can take you to baseball's highest point. And you don't need a world-beating offense to go along with it. You just need enough offense. The Mets pitching, of course, is really good. Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard — they've been impressive. But, Sandy Alderson, get them some bats. At the time of this writing, the Mets would get a big boost from Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, Jay Bruce and Carlos Gonzalez. These windows to make a run are small. The Giants and the Kansas City Royals showed us last year you don't need to be a perfect team, you just need to be good enough to win in October. (Mike Oz)

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CUBS
The Chicago Cubs have been relatively quiet so far, which is somewhat surprising given their need in the starting rotation and their known interest in pitchers like Cole Hamels and David Price. Team president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer obviously haven't felt comfortable meeting the asking prices for either. That's understandable to some degree given their commitment to their long-term plans. However, the Cubs are relevant right now and could really use that extra reliable starter to make an actual push in 2015.

Whether it's Tyson Ross or Andrew Cashner from San Diego. Whether it's Yovani Gallardo from the Rangers. There are some solid options available. Certainly they aren't the impact arms Hamels or Price would be, but they're obvious upgrades that look would pretty darn good following Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta. (Mark Townsend)

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TWINS
The Minnesota Twins have been one of the best stories of the 2015 season. Rookie manager Paul Molitor has them playing beyond anyone’s expectations and they head into deadline day holding on to the second American League wild-card spot. The problem for the Twins, though, is there are six teams within four games of them, and some are loading up for a playoff run.

The Twins are jacks of all trades, but master of none. You won’t find them near the top of any offensive or pitching categories, so it’s hard to say exactly what they should do, especially without leveraging their future. But with Byron Buxton on the DL, and a tough August schedule full of games against teams chasing them, they’re in danger of falling out of the race. A cheap, reliable No. 3-type starter might be enough to help them keep their surprising season going. If they stand pat we probably won’t be talking about them in late September. (Ian Denomme)

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YANKEES
The New York Yankees have a fairly comfortable lead over their AL East rivals, but that certainly shouldn't preclude them from making a trade on deadline day. While the Toronto Blue Jays pulled off two splashy deals this week, trading for All-Stars Troy Tulowitzki and David Price, the Yankees have stayed relatively quiet. New York did make a depth move Thursday acquiring Dustin Ackley from the Mariners. However, news that right-hander Michael Pineda could miss up to a month with a forearm injury makes them more likely to dip back into the trade market.

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The big names like Price, Cole Hamels and Johnny Cueto are no longer available, but there are still a number of starting pitchers out there and the Yankees would be wise to pick one up before the deadline passes. It would be the right call for a team looking to solidify their status as a bona-fide World Series contender. (Israel Fehr)

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WHITE SOX
A recent seven-game win streak suddenly turned the Chicago White Sox into mild buyers at the deadline. Many had speculated that Jeff Samardzija would be on his way out a week ago, only to have the rug pulled out from under them now. If Samardzija is going to stay, it makes sense for the White Sox to make some type of addition before the end of the deadline. Given how much the team has struggled until recently, there are a lot of areas in which they could use an upgrade.

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The rotation is probably set (unless the club wants to finally get rid of John Danks), but nearly everything else is up for grabs. A bullpen addition would be nice, as would a second baseman, third baseman, catcher, corner outfielder or upgrade at DH. As currently constructed, this doesn't look like a playoff team. But if they are actually keeping Samardzija, it makes sense to double-down on the offseason plan and make a play for another big piece. (Chris Cwik)

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz