No MLB team can afford to take a year off. Whether they are contenders, a year or two away, or heading downhill in need of a rebuild, all teams must work to further their goals. With inaction not being a reasonable option and the first half nearly wrapped up, here is the top action item for each of the 30 teams' chief executives and general managers as the season moves forward.
American League
Baltimore Orioles: Sort out who is in charge. The Orioles are not very good and they're poorly positioned for the future. They need to figure out who is running things in the owner's box, the front office and on the field. Until they do that, the franchise will remain a mess.
Boston Red Sox: Solve their center-field problem. Jackie Bradley Jr. has followed up a disappointing 2017 campaign with an even worse season so far. The team needs to quickly figure out whether it can fix Bradley -- who is still solid defensively -- or find someone who can fill the position for this season and next.
Chicago White Sox: Deciding if 2019 is their year. The White Sox have assembled a lot of young, cheap talent. When their pals on the North Side got close, they signed Jon Lester and made the playoffs. The White Sox need to determine just how close they are, or if next year has to look a lot like this one.
Cleveland Indians: Find the next Andrew Miller. The team could probably use another outfielder, but that isn't a necessity. Cleveland should have no trouble qualifying for the postseason, so they need to make moves to help them once they get there, and that means making their bullpen much, much better. Andrew Miller is probably too high a bar, but getting another quality arm is a must.
Detroit Tigers: Determine their key players' peak trade value. Nick Castellanos and Leonys Martin have a year and a half before free agency. Michael Fulmer and Matt Boyd have four more years of team control. Joe Jimenez has five more years with the club, while Jordan Zimmermann has around $60 million left on his deal, making him tough to trade. Now might be the best time to trade some of these players, but the winter or holding until next season might extract better offers depending on the player.
Houston Astros: Make a long-term pitching plan. The roster looks pretty good for the rest of the season, so only minor moves will be necessary. But with Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton free agents at the end of the season and Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole getting there the year after, the Astros will need a plan to keep their starting pitching at the top of the league.
Kansas City Royals: Keep taking what you can get. The club already moved Jon Jay and Kelvin Herrera. Though the returns were modest, the team needs to keep moving veteran players with any value as it rebuilds for the future. Mike Moustakas is the obvious target, but Danny Duffy and Whit Merrifield might have some value, as well.
Los Angeles Angels: Decide whether the season can be saved. They are behind in the race for the AL's second wild card, but they're not out of it. The Shohei Ohtani injury dealt them a blow, and if they can't get back in the race, they should trade Garrett Richards and Ian Kinsler. With Mike Trout around for only a couple of more years, they either need to get out or put more chips in the middle.
Minnesota Twins: Figure out what has gone wrong -- and how to fix it. If this season's underperformance for Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Logan Morrison and Brian Dozier is just bad luck, then maybe you keep them together and make another run along with Eddie Rosario, Eduardo Escobar, Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson, Michael Pineda and Jake Odorizzi next year. But if it's more than bad luck, the club needs to reassess how it'll contend next season.
New York Yankees: Sort out what they want to do about their rotation. New York has received fairly encouraging performances from Domingo German and Jonathan Loaisiga, but they are in a tight battle for the division with the Red Sox, and a drop in performance from their starting pitchers could mean another wild-card game and risking sudden death. They need to be confident in their internal options to avoid seeking help outside the organization.
Oakland Athletics: Deciding what kind of year this is for them. The team could sell off veterans Jonathan Lucroy and Jed Lowrie, but they might instead -- or also -- be buyers at the deadline if they still have a winning record. After three straight last-place finishes, maybe the team tries to stay afloat and build momentum toward next season.
Seattle Mariners: Figuring out what to do when (almost) everything goes right. Seattle's success is unexpected and it already has made moves to bolster the team with Denard Span and Alex Colome. They don't have the prospects to swing a big deal, but they should be ready and able to take on any contract from a team trying to dump salary.
Tampa Bay Rays: Figure out what's next. The Rays have a ton of financial flexibility after clearing multiple contracts from the books with only Chris Archer and Kevin Kiermaier owed big money next season. Even arbitration raises will put the team at only about $30 million in salary commitments for next season. The Rays aren't bad, but they aren't very good, either, and they have holes all over the diamond.
Texas Rangers: Get cleaned up. Texas didn't do much over the winter to try to contend this season, and it shows. The Rangers need to move Cole Hamels, and they probably should move Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus and see what they can get for Shin-Soo Choo even if it means paying down some of the contract. The Rangers need a fresh start heading into the offseason so they can either rebuild or spend their way back into contention.
Toronto Blue Jays: Sorting out where they want to be in 2019. Toronto did a nice job in the offseason gathering players for a potential run this season without hurting their long-term outlook. Contention doesn't look promising this year, so does the team go for it next year -- maybe even bringing back Josh Donaldson with a qualifying offer? -- or is a bigger sell-off in order, potentially moving Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman?
National League
Arizona Diamondbacks: Find the next J.D. Martinez. Arizona received a slugger at a bargain rate last season on its way to the postseason. The Diamondbacks are in good shape again this season, but if they want to hold off the Dodgers in the NL West race, they are going to need at least one more piece.
Atlanta Braves: Get a third baseman. The organization might have believed they weren't quite ready to contend this season. Atlanta also might have thought Austin Riley could man the hot corner by the end of the season. The former isn't the case for the first-place Braves, and the latter hasn't happened due to injury. There will be plenty of third basemen available for the Braves to choose from at the deadline.
Chicago Cubs: Wait 'til next year? The Cubs are underperforming right now, but all of the pieces are still in place to make a run. Chicago might be better served to let it ride and hope its current core makes a move forward this year and then shop for reinforcements in the offseason.
Cincinnati Reds: Determine who's part of the next good Reds team's core. Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez are locked up long term, but Scooter Gennett and Billy Hamilton are just a year away from free agency, while Adam Duvall, Scott Schebler and Jose Peraza are all going to get more expensive in arbitration. The Reds are in a tough spot, but they need to figure out whom they want to build around if they are going to end their rebuild anytime soon.
Colorado Rockies: Reassess the current plan. A season ago, the Rockies used a great bullpen to make a surprising playoff run. They tried to double down this season, but the pen hasn't been as helpful. Ian Desmond gets cheaper and Gerardo Parra's contract is off the books after this year. Will the team try to make one more big run with Nolan Arenado heading to free agency after next season?
Los Angeles Dodgers: Figure out the outfield. The Dodgers have Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Joc Pederson and prospect Alex Verdugo (not to mention current shortstop Chris Taylor) all rating as potential starting outfielders down the stretch. None are actual stars or likely stars, but determining who deserves playing time this year could be an issue that grows more difficult as they head toward the offseason.
Miami Marlins: Make a decision on J.T. Realmuto. The team's not getting any better anytime soon. Attendance isn't going up, either. The Marlins' catcher is the team's best player and likely represents their last shot at adding some quality prospects as the team endures another rebuild.
Milwaukee Brewers: Make some difficult sacrifices. The Brewers made their big moves in the offseason, bringing in Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain. They need to figure out how much more they can sacrifice to make sure they get to the playoffs after falling just short last season.
New York Mets: Decide their future outlook. The team has a lot of good young players and a pitching star in Jacob deGrom. The Mets should probably make a big run at 2019 by supplementing their core, but if they aren't willing to get better, they might need to pull the plug and shop their ace.
Philadelphia Phillies: Sort out their infield. The Phillies have a proven pro in Cesar Hernandez at second base with Scott Kingery, J.P. Crawford and Maikel Franco all possessing some short- and long-term value. The team also probably could use a better right fielder, but determining their starting infield of the future should have more ramifications on their future success.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Reopen the window to contention. Pittsburgh is clearly in transition with the offseason trades of Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole. But the club still has a lot of young, talented players and little in the way of future payroll commitments. The team should do its best to position itself to get back in contention next season, assuming they can't keep up this summer.
St. Louis Cardinals: Find a way to shake up the team. The Cardinals could be on the verge of missing the playoffs for a third straight season. Without a real star and a continued reliance on the strategic blunders of manager Mike Matheny, the team can't expect to stay the course this season or next and believe that its fortunes will change.
San Diego Padres: Keep experimenting to see what sticks. Whether it is Matt Strahm as a three-inning starter, seeing what you have in Christian Villanueva and others or potentially promoting top prospects such as Luis Urias or Fernando Tatis Jr., the Padres can try different strategies -- and trade some of their relievers -- to help them determine when to make the next move forward toward contention.
San Francisco Giants: What does all-in look like? If the team wanted to start over, it could trade Madison Bumgarner, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford and Andrew McCutchen, but that isn't really the Giants' MO. The team already has committed to 2018, but the NL has a crowded playoff picture, and it could be difficult to stay in the race without trading for help -- and potentially triggering the luxury tax.
Washington Nationals: Get a catcher. Washington has unexpectedly found itself in a division race because of the resurgence of the Braves and Phillies. The team has some rotation questions due to injuries, but its biggest hole remains at catcher, where Matt Wieters and Pedro Severino are not getting the job done.