Kansas City Royals: Jay Bruce

Record: 55–51, .519

Standings: 2nd in AL Central (2 1/2 games behind); 1/2 game ahead for second wild card

Playoff Odds: 39.4%

Given that general manager Dayton Moore and manager Ned Yost would sooner saw each other's legs off with a rusty blade than bench shortstop Alcides Escobar (49 OPS+) or leftfielder Alex Gordon (60 OPS+), the big opportunity for the Royals to upgrade is at DH. Brandon Moss has gotten most of the at-bats there and is hitting an anemic .205/.286/.402 for a 79 OPS+.

Bruce, meanwhile, is hitting .265/.328/.534 with 28 homers (third in the NL) for a Mets team that is going nowhere and has a logjam in the outfield corners. He's making a modest $13 million this year, his last before reaching free agency, and New York can use absorbing that salary to bring back something interesting in exchange.