The honeymoon is over; it’s time to get back to business. With only a week-and-a-half until the July 31st trade deadline strikes midnight, a number of rumors have been floating around the water cooler as teams try to scramble to attempt to fix what may or may not need to be fixed in order to secure a spot in the playoffs. As it stands now the Atlanta Braves are the only team leading their division by holding a comfortable six-game lead over the Washington Nationals in the National League East. As for the other five divisions, an alarming one to two-and-a-half games separate the leaders from the number two spot. Even with the addition of the second Wild Card spot in 2012, anything can happen down the stretch so it might be potentially be a good idea for a few of these rumors to become a reality.

1. Matt Garza to the Texas Rangers

This trade is the one that makes the most sense of all. Despite solid seasons from Yu Darvish and Derek Holland, the rest of the Rangers’ starting rotation has been mediocre to worthless at best. In order to keep pace and not rely solely on the bats of Nelson Cruz and Adrian Beltre, the Rangers need to cut a deal fast with the veteran right-hander who is off to one of the best starts of his career despite starting the year on the DL. Garza is 6-1 with a 3.17 ERA with the Chicago Cubs in 2013; however, during interleague games against the American League Western Division, Garza is 2-0 in three starts with 18 strikeouts and only six earned runs. Garza is a natural AL pitcher, which he proved in his years with the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays. The trade, which may involve right-handed pitching prospect Martin Perez and third baseman Mike Olt, would surely be one of those few in which the Cubs’ acquisitions would be apparent down the road. As for the Rangers, if this deal goes down, expect to see them slugging it out hard with the Oakland Athletics like the end of the 2012 campaign.

2. Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz to the Oakland Athletics

The Athletics are off to one of their best starts in franchise history behind a band of misfits that most other teams had given up on in their careers. At 56-39 the Athletics and general manager Bill Beane may become some of the biggest buyers prior to or at the trade deadline. The pitching has always been fine for the Athletics and 2013 is no exception. They currently hold the seventh-best ERA (3.62) in the majors and the third best WHIP (1.19), but it’s their bats that have gone cold. The Athletics are still holding strong in scoring runs at eighth overall; however, their team average has sunk to .245, the 21st-best in the Majors. While John Jaso and Derek Norris have been clutch late in close games, the Athletics could afford to acquire someone who could hit for a better average, especially against left-handed pitchers; enter Ruiz. Josh Donaldson and Jed Lowrie are the only two infielders, let alone bats, currently hitting over .300 while anyone who is given the start at second base seems to let run-scoring opportunities go to waste; enter Utley. Ruiz and Utley are both 34-years-old and are both hitting .268 or better, which are both significantly better than anyone who plays either of the positions on the Athletics. The deal that is currently in the mix would send three solid minor league prospects to the Philadelphia Phillies for the two veterans whose contracts expire at season’s end. If this deal were to go through, anything short of a World Series trophy might be considered a failure.

3. Alex Rios to the Pittsburgh Pirates

This would be an interesting move if it goes down for the sake of finances. Rios has one more year on his contract which will bring him an easy $18 million; however, the Pirates are nit exactly a team that goes out and spends a lot of loot on players. In fact, their payroll for the 2013 season came in around $67 million. Rios has batted a solid .278 throughout his career and carries with him a lot of pop and stellar base running/stealing speed. Seeing how all Pirates’ right fielders have combined to hit .235 this season, the move would potentially help the team get out of the doldrums offensively as they are hitting a 26th-best .243 as a team as they hold onto the second-best record in all of baseball. This one move may be the difference of ending their 20-year playoff drought.