The 2010 Major League Baseball trade deadline is just over a month away with the deadline being its customary date of July 31st on a yearly basis.

Over the next month I will try and tackle every Major League team as the deadline approaches to see if they will be buyers, sellers or stick to their current roster.

I will be basing my assumptions on the direction the team is going, their record as of the date I post the article, possible roster injuries and so on and so forth.

I will provide the information about each team by division. I began last week with the National League East’s Atlanta Braves , New York Mets  & Philadelphia Phillies .

Today I will continue my look at the NL East with the Florida Marlins.

After a loss to the division rival New York Mets in the San Juan series in Puerto Rico the Florida Marlins currently sit fourth in the National League East with a record of 37-41, eight and a half games behind the division leading Atlanta Braves.

After a 2009 season which saw the team finish in second place in the division with a record of 87-75 despite a low budget of $36,834,000 the team was expected to be a major player in the NL East under manager Fredi Gonzalez with superstars such as Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson leading the way.

The unexpected has occurred on several occasions with the team and it has lead to underachievement as well as a poor first half record thus far.

The team decided to go against the grain of their normal business in the off-season signing ace pitcher Josh Johnson to a four-year, $39 million while locking up key players such as Cody Ross, Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, Ricky Nolasco, Leo Nunez, Anibal Sanchez & Ronny Paulino to contracts to avoid arbitration hearings, which is very uncustomary for the small market Marlins.

One area the team did not address in the off-season in a sensible manner was the bullpen. The Marlins focussed on acquiring bullpen arms that came via minor league contracts such as Derrick Turnbow, Seth McClung & Jose Veras in a cost reducing strategy. The moves did not pay off as none of their off-season minor league deals paid off in any way shape or form and only Veras currently remains in the organization.

Rumours swirled throughout the off-season and continue to this day that the Marlins have been shopping the likes of Uggla & Ross, yet both remain on the squad as key figures in the Marlins offense.

The biggest news for the Marlins could have been the highly publicized confrontation between manager Gonzalez & superstar Ramirez with the manager benching his player after accusing him of a lack of hustle during a game earlier in the year. The benching led to Ramirez making comments to the media about his manager, which in turn had second baseman Dan Uggla respond, attacking Ramirez’ character & hustle. Ramirez was asked by the organization to apologize for his comments and refused, which caused even more media speculation that the team and the player may part ways. This obviously did not occur and Ramirez eventually apologized for his child-like behaviour.

The team was than in the media yet again as they surprisingly fired Gonzalez just over a week ago and immediately had the interest of former Mets coach Bobby Valentine, who was interviewed for the position and had most media sources convinced the job was his. The Marlins and Valentine did not agree to a contract as the Marlins saw a difference in philosophy, deciding to go with Triple A manager Edwin Rodriguez on an interim basis.

It’s very apparent that the Marlins have dealt with numerous problems this season, yet the record is not as bad as it possibly could be.

The team relies heavily on a young talented rotation of Johnson (8-3, 1.83ERA), Ricky Nolasco (7-6, 4.84ERA), Anibal Sanchez (7-4, 3.18ERA), Chris Volstad (4-7, 4.45ERA) and veteran re-acquisition Nate Robertson (5-6, 4.97ERA), as well as an offense led by five tool player Ramirez, power hitting Uggla, the versatile hard hitting Cantu & a bevy of talent such as Ross & last season’s NL Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan. The team has also seen the recent promotion of one of the possible future superstars in the National League Mike Stanton, as he has showcased at times the power potential the team saw in him when they decided to draft him in 2007 (2HR, 13 RBI in 74AB).

If the team can gel under new manager Rodriguez they can possibly turn things around as they are still within striking distance with plenty of playing time left in the season. The team is dangerous offensively and can shutdown any opposing team’s bats with their talented rotation, but where does that leave the Marlins come the trade deadline?

Based on how the team plays in the month of July the Marlins could be a buyer, as they look to secure themselves a bullpen piece.

The team’s bullpen features dependable closer Leo Nunez (3-1, 2.76ERA, 16SV) and bullpen stalwarts Brian Sanches (0-1, 3.38ERA) & Taylor Tankersley (0-0, 3.68ERA), but the team is relying on pitchers such as Alejandro Sanabia, Scott Strickland, Jose Veras & Tim Wood to fill in the rest of the bullpen and not one of those players has been what the Marlins are looking for as they have all had their struggles. The team has recently released bullpen pieces Hunter Jones, Renyel Pinto & designated James Houser for assignment so the team is having a tough time this season with it’s bullpen.

If the Marlins manage to stay in the race for the NL East crown come the trade deadline the team will most certainly have to add one or even two pieces to a bullpen in desperate need of immediate help.

The team could also be major sellers if the ball club is not in contention come the trade deadline as they have major trade chips such as Uggla & Ross.

Uggla is owed $7.8 million for 2010 and is hitting .265 with 15HR & 46RBI, while Ross is hitting .297 with 7HR & 43RBI while being owed $4.45 million this season. The club has Coghlan, Stanton & Emilio Bonifacio with Cameron Maybin (who is currently in the minor leagues) as a projected future outfield, so Ross could certainly be gone come July 31st if the team can find a suitable deal for the outfielder.

The Marlins will certainly expect a good return for Uggla, who has been one of the perennial power hitting second baseman in all of baseball over his career, recording 136 home runs in five seasons. Uggla is only under team control until the end of the season and he is already 30 years old, having started his Major League career later than most. The Marlins have veterans Gookie Dawkins & Danny Richar playing second base in Triple A with Richar playing well, but do not feature a prominent second base prospect in their farm system. They may have to get themselves a second baseman or a notable middle infield prospect in return for Uggla.

The team could also draw some interest for the veteran Cantu (.268, 10HR, 50RBI) who is a versatile defensive player who can man first and third base as well as hit in the designated hitter spot for an American League team. The Marlins may want to sell high on Cantu while he puts together another fine season in a Marlins uniform. With Gaby Sanchez proving he can hit Major League pitching this season, as well as play first base on an everyday basis and Hector Luna (.307, 14HR, 54RBI) raking in the minor leagues, the Marlins may be forced to offer up Cantu as he will certainly be a great addition for any team looking for added depth. The team also predicts a big future out of minor league first baseman Logan Morrison and will need to eventually open up a spot in the infield for him as well. Morrison is hitting well in Triple A this season (.315, 4HR, 28RBI) and deserves a call-up soon in my opinion.

Other players such as veteran backstop Ronny Paulino & utility players Wes Helms & Mike Lamb could be trade bait, but I do not see these players drawing much trade interest and the Marlins may want to keep the veterans around to help out with some of the younger players on the squad.

The Marlins future at the trade deadline will bank heavily on how well they play in the month of July as the futures of players such as Uggla, Ross & Cantu may be traded to make way for the likes of Maybin, Morrison or other prospects, but if the team can turn it around and play some winning baseball you may see the team make some additions as the NL East is certainly a winnable division for anyone playing in it.