It's MLB trade deadline day, usually a day of anticipation and hopefully much wheeling and dealing before the 4 p.m. ET Aug. 31 deadline arrives. We've already seen a half-dozen or so interesting deals, although no blockbusters. That's not necessarily a surprise, given the major issues affecting this year's trade market:
1. With the expanded playoffs and shortened season, a lot of teams are still in it, limiting the number of obvious sellers.
2. Teams are reluctant to take on additional payroll in a season in which they're going to lose money.
3. You can trade players only from the team's 60-man eligibility list, so most of the Class A types who are often in these trades aren't eligible (which is why several of the trades so far included players to be named later).