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As MLB enters the sweltering days of the summer and the playoff chases really start to sizzle, the left-handed-hitting O鈥橦earn, 31, looks like one of those trade candidates with the potential to significantly bolster a contending team or fill a need for a team still fighting for its postseason hopes.

O鈥橦earn went into the break batting .286 with a .382 on-base percentage, a .458 slugging percentage and 11 home runs in 273 at-bats. He also carried an OPS+ of 139 this season while bouncing between both corner outfield positions as well as first base.

Nobody will confuse him with acquiring Shohei Ohtani at the trade deadline, but O鈥橦earn is a solid left-handed hitter with pop.

In a larger sense, O鈥橦earn also serves as an example that the clich茅d phrase of a player in need of 鈥渁 change of scenery鈥� actually holds true now and then.

鈥淚 never thought it was going to happen,鈥� O鈥橦earn told Baltimore-based reporters when he got selected as an All-Star starter. 鈥淚 thought that was probably just a pipe dream and something that wasn鈥檛 in the cards for me, and I was completely OK with it. I think that鈥檚 why I鈥檓 shocked right now.

鈥淚 spent a lot of time just trying to keep my head above the water in the big leagues and just stick around as long as I possibly could. To be able to say I鈥檓 a major league all-star 鈥� I鈥檓 blown away.鈥�

A former draft pick of the Kansas City Royals (2014, eighth round), O鈥橦earn made an immediate and historic splash when he reached the majors in 2018. He hit 12 home runs and 24 extra-base hits in his 44 games that season, the most by any Royal.

However, he struggled to find the consistency to build on that initial success. In his next 231 big league games, he has slashed .205/.280/.358.

By 2022, he鈥檇 taken a back seat to younger prospects and former first-round draft pick Nick Pratto.

While O鈥橦earn remained on the big league roster for the entire 2022 season, his playing time became minimal and infrequent 鈥� 145 total plate appearances. O鈥橦earn earned the respect of Royals staff and teammates for the way he handled his situation. He worked diligently toward individual improvement, and he remained a good teammate and a positive clubhouse presence.

After the 2022 season, the Royals traded him to the Orioles for cash. The Orioles then designated him for assignment that same winter to make room on the roster. O鈥橦earn came to camp that year as a non-roster invite.

Since the start of the regular season in 2023, O鈥橦earn has slashed .278/.343/.452.

O鈥橦earn may influence a playoff race this summer. If not, he鈥檚 still proof that a new environment can turn around a career and reignite an earlier spark.

Other things to watch down the stretch include:

Raleigh rally rolls on

Not enough light can shine on Seattle Mariners catcher tremendous season. That鈥檚 not just because of his gaudy 38 home run total or his 82 RBIs 鈥� both lead the majors and outpace New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge.

It鈥檚 that Raleigh has had MVP-caliber offensive production while playing the most taxing position on the field. Oh, and it鈥檚 not as if he鈥檚 being hidden behind the plate by default. Last season, he brought home the AL Gold Glove Award as a catcher as well as the AL Platinum Glove Award as the league鈥檚 best all-around defender.

This season, he鈥檚 caught more than 630 innings, and he鈥檚 among the top tier of catchers in throwing out base stealers as well as framing pitches.

Judge leads the majors in wins above replacement (WAR), which likely makes him the lead dog in the MVP race, but the grind of catching doesn鈥檛 get quantified accurately enough for my liking.

Tiger tales

The best record at the MLB All-Star break belonged to the Detroit Tigers. The same Tigers who entered the season projected (via PECOTA) for 79 wins, have already won 59 games.

The Tigers logged an MLB-best six All-Star selections, including players who were chosen and did not participate as well as players named as replacements, led by defending AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.

The team from the Motor City already has an 11 1/2-game lead in the AL Central.

have made a big impact. Riley Greene, in his fourth big league season at age 24, is batting .284 and already has matched his home run total from last season (24). Meanwhile, former No. 1 overall draft pick (2020) Spencer Torkelson has an .826 OPS and 21 home runs.

Former Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty has a strikeout rate (11.1 per nine innings) higher than his best seasons with the Cardinals, though he鈥檚 also posted a 4.65 ERA and 5-9 record.

Deep pockets and deep runs

With , it will be interesting to watch how the big-market, high-payroll clubs finish down the stretch.

In some corners, teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays garner praise for pushing payroll to its upper limits.

Some might call it trying to build the best team possible for their fan base.

However, this past offseason featured a distinct outcry over the spending habits of teams like the Dodgers, Yankees and Mets and their resulting ability to stockpile talent and add high-profile free agents in recent years such as Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Juan Soto, Max Fried and Gerrit Cole.

How the high-spending teams perform down the stretch (including the postseason) and the perception of their seasons may be very telling as far as how the upcoming war between the players and ownership will be framed.