It’s that time of year again. And if you’re an amateur GM like me, then the fast-approaching trade deadline means you are glued to www.mlbtraderumors.com (currently my home page on both my desktop and laptop).

We’ve already seen the Oakland A’s land the second best pitcher in Jeff Samardzija. They also picked up Jason Hammel, who has been having an amazing season.

With no glaring holes, and now the strongest rotation in baseball, the A’s look tough to beat. Should one of their players go down they still have as a trade chip Tommy Milone to dangle.

But that is just a couple of pieces and two teams. With this being a down year for a lot of teams (loving  Boston Wrong this season personally) I see this having the potential to be a massive trade deadline.

A team as incompetent as the Minnesota Twins is less than 10 games out. Any of the top three teams in the AL East are players, and the Angels will almost certainly try to make a move – though God only knows what they have left to offer.

In the NL the Giants could use a bat and while it’s inter-divisional, Carlos Gonzalez from Colorado would be a gem to put in the third or fourth batting slot and in the outfield. The Dodgers, it seems, have more money than Wall Street, and whenever a big name is on the market, they have to be considered a favorite. They have depth at everything and owners that just want to win.

The Central has turned into a dog fight (insert Michael Vick cheap shot here). My Pirates have awoken and the cannon balls be a comin’. They have needs with the rotation and they could use a power hitter like Josh Willingham off the bench as their fourth outfielder. A cheap player that also could spend time at first base, like Chris Parmelee or Chris Colabello from Minnesota, would also work well.

They acquired Justin Morneau last year for next to nothing. Getting him back won’t be as cheap this year but he’s almost got to be available from the struggling Rockies. The Reds mostly need to get healthy, but they, too, have a lot of prospects and holes to fill. The Brewers have fallen back to earth a little bit, but they have a ton of prospects if the right pieces show up.

In the NL East you have Washington and Atlanta jockeying for the top spot, like most of us picked. But even the Marlins aren’t dead yet – even without ace Jose Fernandez! Jeffery Loria (maybe the worst owner in the history of American sports) isn’t beyond mortgaging everything for right now like Wayne Huizenga did twice in the past, just to start a fire sale in the offseason.

I expect the Rays will finally trade David Price. John Lackey and Jake Peavy should find different homes shortly. The Rockies could very quickly retool if they traded Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzales, Morneau and Michael Cuddyer.

The Rangers are best to wait for their players to get healthy for next season and enjoy the better draft picks.

I’d love to read what you think your team needs to pick up and who you’d like to jettison. Just use your common sense. The Twins can’t trade Joe Mauer and the Phillies can’t trade Jonathon Papelbon or Ryan Howard … They are dead weight!