Neal Huntington has to make a trade in July. He has no choice

     The trade deadline is in less than two weeks which means the teams in contention will bolster their roster in hopes of a playoff run. The Pirates are right in the thick of things, owning the third best record in all of baseball. However, I don't think this current roster make up can continue to do what they are doing. The law of regression comes into play. A lot of players have outdone their career numbers. This leads me to believe that at least a little regression could happen which could be disastrous.

     We've already seen some regression on this team, especially in the bullpen. Caminero, Bastardo, Guerra, and Worley have been less than ideal lately. This team is playing with fire in the bullpen with 4/7 of the bullpen being guys that are regressing. There needs to be another arm in there to bridge the gap from the starters to Watson and Melancon. It's hard to keep going hoping some of these guys continue to be effective.

     There are also some offensive players due to regress which would make the offense when worse. These players mainly being Kang and Cervelli. Can't afford to lose anymore offense. Getting Harrison back will be a shot in the arm, but he won't be back until September. Plus, his bat doesn't make as huge of an impact as it did last season. Getting a proven hitter that isn't due to have a huge regression would really solidify this lineup around McCutchen and Marte.

     Another reason we need a deal made is that the other teams we're in contention with will make trades. I imagine the Cardinals will want to sure up some spots because of injuries. Cubs have been in search of big name starting pitching and bullpen help. The Mets have been rumored to be looking at an impact bat. Giants might sure up their pitching. Knowing this, Huntington can't be a sitting duck and see all these other teams make trades while he doesn't. Huntington has not done great as a buyer in the first four go arounds. Let's summarize:

2011: Acquired Derek Lee and Ryan Ludwick
2012: Acquired Wandy Rodriguez, Travis Snider, Gaby Sanchez, Chad Qualls
2013: Acquired Marlon Byrd, John Buck, Justin Morneau(all in August)
2014: None

     As can be seen, the only really successful one was in 2013, but I honestly think that those reinforcements came too late. If they had made the trades sooner, they might've won the division. Who knows? If they had made a deal last year, they might've won the division. This year, Huntington can't afford to wait or do nothing. The Cardinals, even in their current state with the injuries, will be tough to catch. Pirates need to make trades for good players to help catch up.

     I'm not trying to be a downer, I'm just saying what I think. The Pirates are doing something really special this year, and I love it. However, even one or two more good players added onto the team could put them into another level. Between regression and other teams probably making trades, Huntington has his hands tied. He has to make a trade, and I think he will.