MLB Rumors: Latest Trade Deadline Buzz on Diamondbacks, Giants and More

Major League Baseball's non-waiver trade deadline falls when the clock strikes midnight on July 31, and several teams, including National League West rivals in the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants, figure to be prominently involved.

Multiple players are on the block for the defending champion Giants, while the D'Backs are looking to trade away a couple of key pieces in exchange for assets to make a run at the division title.

However, there are also the Philadelphia Phillies to consider, specifically with regard to the future of left-handed ace Cliff Lee.

Below is a breakdown of the latest trade rumor buzz on these National League teams and the potential ramifications their actions could have.

D'Backs to Get Pitching Help for Home Stretch?

Rumor has it that Arizona GM Kevin Towers may be trying to move both starting pitcher Ian Kennedy and left fielder Jason Kubel, according to MLB.com's Peter Gammons:

The implication by Gammons was that Towers was trying to land his old San Diego Padres Cy Young Award winner in pitcher Jake Peavy, but the hurler was dealt to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday (h/t Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com).

Kennedy is 3-8 with a 5.23 ERA—a shell of the starter who won an NL-best 21 games just two seasons ago. Meanwhile, Kubel is batting just .231 and doesn't offer much value, either.

Another possible hurler the D'Backs could land is promising Chicago Cubs youngster Jeff Samardzija, who seems to only be improving over the past three seasons despite his 6-9 record in 2013.

Unfortunately, the Cubs are asking to essentially take whatever they want from their prospective trading partner's farm system, and Arizona is in competition with several other unnamed teams, per Heyman.

So it might not quite be in the cards for Towers to land another marquee pitcher to help the Diamondbacks enhance their chances at contending now, but it won't be for a lack of effort.

Giants Sure to Move Javier Lopez; Two Other Stars Could Be Shipped

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that San Francisco is "definitely" going to trade Lopez, and notes that the Cleveland Indians are a team that has expressed interest.

The 36-year-old Lopez sports a wonderful 1.42 ERA this season and has proved to be a phenomenal setup man. That's not exactly valuable for a team that is nearly out of the playoff chase, but could yield young assets for the Giants.

Hunter Pence and Tim Lincecum, like Lopez, are free agents this coming offseason, and according to Sherman, the team is listening to offers for their services, too.

But considering how solid Pence has played in his time in the Bay Area, the Giants are likelier to hold onto him and attempt to re-sign him.

According to Sherman, San Francisco will seek outfield power if Pence is traded, so it might make more sense to keep him rather than plugging in a new player to a situation that is currently turbulent.

It's been a rough past couple of seasons for Lincecum, meanwhile, although he did just throw a no-hitter and has had only one bad outing in July compared to four other rather solid starts.

Danny Knobler offers up a nice summary of these three players, noting that Lincecum is particularly unlikely to be moved:

If Lincecum is offered up to a contender, any team would be hard-pressed not to take a hard look at him.

Cliff Lee to the Cardinals?

The buzz from CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury suggests that the Phillies are asking a lot in return for Lee, and that they prefer to keep him to headline the 2014 rotation with Cole Hamels.

Apparently that might not be the case, per Jim Bowden of ESPN, who indicates that St. Louis and Boston have the means to acquire the prolific southpaw:

It's probably safe to assume that the Red Sox's deal for Peavy takes them out of the running for Lee:

However, the Cardinals seemingly remain in contention for Lee. St. Louis entered Tuesday with half-game margins between themselves and their closest competition in their respective divisions. Adding an ace like Lee would make such a massive impact.

Lee is 10-4 with a 3.05 ERA this year and has a contract that runs through at least 2015 (h/t Spotrac.com), meaning he won't be a mere rental and could even feasibly finish his career with his next team.

Philadelphia's reluctance to part ways with such a marquee player is logical, but a Godfather-type offer of prospects to help the Phillies build for the future would be difficult to turn down.