We are six days away from the trade deadline and there really hasn't been a flurry of activity yet. Instead, a majority of the league remains within a hot streak of contention and the worry that there won't be enough sellers to make for a big trade deadline remains a legitimate concern. There are also more than enough teams who could go on a losing streak and become sellers before next Wednesday. A red-hot trade deadline still remains possible.
We'll be here each day to roundup the latest on the rumor mill. We also took a look at the 50 best trade candidates, including the top 10 pitchers and top 10 hitters on the market. If you're interested in which prospects could be switching systems before July 31, we have you covered:
Where will some of the biggest names on the trading block end up? Our experts at Sportsline have the odds on who Noah Syndergaard, Trevor Bauer and more will be playing for on Aug. 1.
Here are the latest trade rumors as the July 31 deadline approaches:
Asking prices for Syndergaard and Bauer remain high
New York Post's Joel Sherman reports that the prices for right-handed starters Noah Syndergaard and Trevor Bauer are still high, as the Mets and Indians try to figure out how much they can squeeze out of contending teams in need of starting pitching. More from Sherman:
The wild cards in the starting pitching market are Noah Syndergaard and Trevor Bauer. The Mets and Indians have set high prices on the talented righties and are gauging how much they could extract in a starting-pitcher-hungry market.
Outside executives believe the Indians are more likely to trade than the Mets are. The presence of Bauer and Syndergaard would deepen the quality and quantity of the starting pitching market because a strong argument could be made that pair has the best stuff of any potentially available starters — and acquiring teams value stuff for the playoffs perhaps above all other attributes.
According to Sherman, the Indians would be able to make a deal with the Yankees for Bauer (citing the 2016 deadline trade with Andrew Miller), and notes that Bauer is New York's top choice in the market, but that they face competition from the Astros, Phillies and others.
Sherman also notes that there is a "strong belief" that the Mets will not complete a deal of this magnitude with the Yankees, and that the Astros and Padres are among the interested teams in Snydergaard. Sources have confirmed to CBS Sports's R.J. Anderson the Mets are listening to offers for Syndergaard, as well as reliever Edwin Diaz.
Bauer, 28, will be a free agent after next season while Syndergaard, 26, is not a free agent until after the 2021 season.
Possible Mets plan for Syndergaard and Wheeler
The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports that the Mets are exploring the possibility of trading Noah Syndergaard while signing Zack Wheeler to an extension. As Rosenthal notes, the Mets could benefit from the return they receive for Syndergaard while also hanging onto Wheeler, who is set to depart in free agency after this season.
Syndergaard is still under contract through 2021 and would likely net some valuable prospects in a trade. Wheeler, however, saw his trade value drop after heading to the injured list with shoulder fatigue. He's set to make one start (Friday vs. Pirates) before July 31.
Giants likely to keep Bumgarner
It once seemed like a guarantee that Madison Bumgarner would be changing teams during the 2019 season, but a recent surge by the Giants has the team reconsidering deadline plans. San Francisco is now "all but certain" to hang on to Bumgarner -- a free agent after the season -- for the rest of 2019, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. We have more on the Giants' plans here.
Royals not planning on dealing Merrifield
The Royals have received interest from the Cubs, Braves and Phillies regarding Whit Merrifield, their dynamic utility man. But MLB.com's Jon Morosi reports that the Royals are informing clubs that they will keep Merrifield beyond next week's trade deadline. Here's more from Morosi:
Merrifield's initial price tag was set extraordinarily high. The Royals would've had to receive the type of Major League talent that contenders wouldn't give up during the middle of the season.
The Royals have no contractual incentive to move Merrifield, who is under team control through 2023, and the team's front office values him highly as an organizational tone-setter, on and off the field.
While Kansas City isn't shopping Merrifield, Morosi notes that there are talking with teams about a deal for left-handed reliever Jake Diekman. Diekman is getting paid $2.25 million this year on a contract that includes a mutual option for 2020. Morosi is reporting that the Phillies, Cubs, Cardinals, Dodgers, Nationals and Braves are among the teams with varying levels of interest in Diekman.
Cubs interested in Sogard, Castellanos
Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant left Wednesday's game with right knee soreness. Bryant, 27, appears to be day-to-day for now. He will have Thursday's scheduled off day to help aid in his recovery heading into the weekend series versus the Brewers. According to MLB's Jon Morosi, the Cubs' interest in Eric Sogard and Nicholas Castellanos as trade deadline gets has heightened due to Bryant's knee issue. Sogard has had limited playing time at third base this season, while the last time Castellanos saw time at the hot corner was back in 2017.
Astros, Dodgers agree to trade
The Dodgers traded for Astros first baseman Tyler White, who was designated for assignment by Houston just a few days ago. Here's more on the trade details.
Yankees add to catcher depth in trade with Twins
With Yankees starting catcher Gary Sanchez on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 1 groin strain, New York addressed its thinning depth at the catcher position via a trade with the Twins. On Thursday, MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported that the Yankees acquired catcher Brain Navarreto from Minnesota, but it was not reported what the Yankees sent the Twins in return. Navarreto, 24, was playing at Double-A for the Twins prior to the trade. He was hitting .177 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 40 games.
In response to Sanchez's second-half injury, the Yankees promoted Kyle Higashioka from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and named Austin Romine as the team's starting catcher in the meantime. The trade comes just after the Yankees took two out of three games from the first-place Twins, including Tuesday's wild game between the two contenders.
Stroman might have made his last start in Toronto
In this pitching-hungry market, Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman has been one of the names consistently mentioned in trade rumors. Stroman, 28, is cost-controlled through 2020. He's making $7.4 million this season and has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining.
On Wednesday, Stroman may have made his final start with the Blue Jays, a team he's been with since they drafted him in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft. The right-hander gave up one run on five hits with one walk with six strikeouts in seven innings, dropping his ERA for the season to 2.96. Here's what Stroman told MLB.com's Alexis Brudnicki postgame:
"I realized that it could have possibly been my last home start, so [I] definitely wanted to show the crowd some love," Stroman said. "Because the last seven years that I've been a Blue Jay, it's been unbelievable.
"I said, 'This is my house,' because it is. I just thought it could be my last outing here. I've always been emotional. I feel like I've had a pretty good tenure as a Blue Jay. Hopefully, this will be my third [season] throwing 200 innings or more."
On Wednesday, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that the Braves are an "obvious suitor" for Stroman, and Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos was with the Blue Jays when Stroman came up.
