The sell-off has begun for the 2014 Boston Red Sox. On Saturday, the Sox traded starting pitcher Jake Peavy to the San Francisco Giants for minor league pitchers Heath Hembree and Edwin  Escobar.  Both are mid level prospects, but it helps dump salary needed to sign Jon Lester to a long-term deal.

Expect more moves from Boston in the coming days with the trade deadline quickly approaching. Boston has lost three in a row, are 10.5 games out of first and in last place in the American League East. Left handed reliever Andrew Miller, C/1B Mike Napoli and shortstop Stephen Drew could be next.  Outfileders Johnny Gomes and Shane Victorino may be on their way out the door, as well as catcher David Ross. Any aging veteran other than David Ortiz or Dustin Pedroia are fair game at this point.

The St. Louis Cardinals had been rumored for Peavy's services. So where to go now is the focus? With the Tampa Bay Rays becoming the hottest team in baseball, David Price is now off the table. Starters A.J. Burnett (PHI) and Jorge de la Rosa (COL) seem to be the most likely targets.

The Cardinals also have some offensive needs. Daniel Murphy of the Mets is on the wish list, and Marlon Byrd and Alex Rios would also be nice fits. Bullpen depth is also an area of need and St. Louis is expected to make a deal in that area as well. Shelby Miller has been struggling mightily recently, and the Cardinals could look to move him to acquire someone who will give them a more immediate impact.

The Atlanta Braves are not expected to make a major splash, but a tweak here and there could be the difference in the NL East race. They will make a bullpen move, you can bet on it. Lefties Andrew Miller (BOS), Tony Sipp (HOU), Oliver Perez (AZ), Neal Cotts (TEX) and James Russell (CHC) are all targets for Atlanta. Rumors involving Sipp and Perez have heated up in the past few days, with LaTroy Hawkins of the Colorado Rockies also seemingly on their radar. Mike Dunn of the Miami Marlins is also on the market, and would be an interesting pitcher for the Braves to consider.

Atlanta could really use a bat off of the bench as well. A return of Martin Prado (AZ) would be the answer they are looking for. Figuring the money for his contract will be the question. If they are not able to make the dollars work for Prado, guys like Drew Stubbs (COL) or Aaron Hill (AZ) would be obvious targets for Atlanta.

Stay tuned here on VAVEL for all of your MLB rumors and moves. The MLB Trading Deadline is Thursday at 4 PM ET.