'Contenders' that shouldn't buy
The Orioles and other fringe teams that aren't ready for playoff runs
We're down to the last week of the non-waiver trading season in baseball, and most of the focus is on which players teams should target in the coming days.
This coin has a flip side, however, and not every team with a legitimate chance at the playoffs should aggressively go after the stars available at the deadline. Sometimes not pulling off a big trade is the hardest decision a team has to make.
Listed below are five teams that need to avoid taking that leap and refrain from making a big-ticket purchase this season.
Baltimore Orioles
Vice president Dan Duquette may be in the toughest position of any GM right now, with a team that's only a half-game behind a wild-card spot through Monday but has played below .500 ball since its 20-11 high-water mark in May. Complicating Duquette's task is the knowledge that the O's haven't been truly relevant in the playoff picture as anything but spoilers in 15 years.
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Dan Szymborski
ESPN Insider- Creator of ZiPS projection system
- Founder of Baseball Think Factory
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