MLB Rumors: Fresh Trade Buzz on Jonathan Papelbon, Mets' Pitching Wealth, More

The winter meetings are on the horizon, and the MLB trade rumors that have been swirling around our news feeds may finally be resolved while the upper management of each team meets in San Diego.

Anything can happen when general managers meet. In the past, we've seen deals come to fruition that seemingly didn't have any legs during the weeks prior. We've also seen trades come together that have been talked about for months.

Because the winter meetings begin on Dec. 8, it's crucial that you get up to speed with some of the freshest rumors on the mill. A few of them are discussed below.

Jonathan Papelbon

Michael Perez/Associated Press

The market for closers this winter is budding with teams looking to solidify the back end of their bullpens.

The New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays are just a few teams who could use someone to shut the door in the ninth. David Robertson and Andrew Miller are the top free agents available to these teams, while the likes of Sergio Romo, Francisco Rodriguez and Rafael Soriano represent the next tier.

There are also some trade options for teams to consider, though CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets that Jonathan Papelbon hasn't received the interest one would think:

The Philadelphia Phillies closer is 34 years old and has actually posted strong career numbers in The City of Brotherly Love. A 2.45 ERA (2.82 FIP, per Baseball-Reference) and 106 saves in 121 chances make him an asset. So what makes him so unappealing?

It's likely the $13 million salary attached to him for 2015, though his comments during the summer probably won't help his case either.

When asked if he'd welcome a trade to a contending team back in July, the closer told Matt Gelb of Philly.com, "I think that's a no-brainer."

This, of course, was a response to the team's lack of success during the early portion of the season. General Manager Ruben Amaro brushed the comments aside, saying, via Gelb: "He never expressed to me that he's been unhappy. Why wouldn't players want to play on a contending team? It's really rather simple."

Papelbon's reputation as somewhat of a clubhouse nightmare—Howard Eskin called him one of the "bad guys" on the team—will make him difficult to move. It would have to take a team truly desperate for a closer (perhaps the Astros, who were just 31-for-57 in save opportunities last year) to take him off Philly's hands.

Mets Pitching

RICH SCHULTZ/Associated Press

The New York Mets have a giant hole at shortstop. The Mets also have a ton of excess pitching. That has led many to assume that the team will move a pitcher or two at the winter meetings to fill their need up the middle.

Ken Davidoff of the New York Post confirmed that the Mets will look to trade from their depth in one of his latest articles: "The Mets are 'actively' looking to trade one of their veteran starting pitchers, in the estimation of one industry source, and they are hopeful next week’s Winter Meetings clear up some of the pitching gridlock slowing down all teams interested in acquiring or dealing arms."

It makes sense for the Mets to trade one of their starters for a little extra firepower offensively. The team ranked 22nd in baseball in runs scored, 28th in batting average and 26th in OPS.

Bartolo Colon, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee are the ones Davidoff says could be moved. One would think that the Boston Red Sox, who need depth in their rotation, should have interest in Niese or Gee.

Given their spending spree that saw them acquire both Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, the Sox could be in a position to deal Xander Bogaerts. A source within the Mets organization told Dan Martin of the New York Post that they haven't approached Boston just yet, however: "It’s not like we’re knocking down their door to see if [Bogaerts] is available. But we’ll wait and see how things shake out."

Bogaerts has truly yet to flourish in the bigs, but he has far more upside than anyone the Amazins could possibly run out there as the team stands now. He's worth going after if made available.

Of course, the Mets could also address other areas of need with their starters. The bullpen is somewhat short on quality arms, having ranked last in the league in WAR (negative-1.6), according to FanGraphs.

With a wealth of arms and a wealth of options, it'll be interesting to see how the Mets attack their problems.

Yasmani Grandal

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The San Diego Padres have three catching options for next season—Yasmani Grandal, Rene Rivera and Austin Hedges.

Hedges is a prospect with high upside. Rivera never played more than 45 games in a season until last year, when he played 103. Grandal has 20-homer potential, but he has yet to pan out.

All three are somewhat attractive to teams, but Grandal is the most appealing given his age (26) and power. Buster Olney tweets that the Padres are trying to push him on opposing teams:

Now may not be the best time to move the young backstop, though, as ESPN's Peter Gammons thinks he's primed to break out:

Gammons also mentions the Chicago Cubs as a fit. Such a marriage would certainly work for both parties. The Cubs missed out on signing Russell Martin, and Grandal could offer similar offensive production if he indeed breaks out.

That production will come cheaper than Martin's, as Grandal is still under team control until 2019. Several other teams could join the hunt for him, especially if the Padres are "actively" trying to make a deal.

This is a potential trade that could come back to bite the Padres. Their willingness to move him signals that they're committed to Rivera, 31, and Hedges, an unproven prospect.

Fans won't be happy if both flop while Grandal thrives somewhere else.

Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter: @kennydejohn