MLB Rumors: Examining Trade Buzz Around Cole Hamels, Carlos Carrasco and More

The addition of a second wild card in MLB might not be a praiseworthy achievement in the minds of all fans, but it's at least livened up the trade deadline quite a bit.

With more teams in the playoff hunt, more teams have an incentive to move before the deadline in search of that piece that puts them over the top. The rumor mill is working overtime trying to keep up with all of the updates this year.

Below, you'll find some of the recent buzz around pitchers who may ply their trade elsewhere come August.

Cole Hamels

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Rumors regarding Cole Hamels' future in Philadelphia have been swirling for the better part of a few years. The Phillies aren't going to be competitive any time soon, so it makes sense they'd trade their most prized asset in order to help their rebuild. The longer they wait, the less of a return they'll receive.

This may be the year Hamels finally moves. ESPN's Jayson Stark narrowed down the list of likely destinations to four teams: the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Analyzing the viability of each suitor, Stark didn't outright dismiss the likelihood of the Red Sox or Dodgers acquiring Hamels, but he cast some doubt on their chances. He questioned whether Los Angeles would meet the Phillies' asking price and whether Boston would be a major buyer during a season in which it's unlikely to make the playoffs. The Rangers are in a similar position to the Red Sox.

According to Stark, the Cubs might be falling out of the race as well:

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Other clubs say the Cubs are dangling Javier Baez and Starlin Castro as the centerpieces of a potential deal. But the Phillies appear no more than lukewarm about either of them. And it's hard to see how the Cubs could structure an alternate package without trading young players they'd planned to build around, not move.

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It's a bit surprising that a package built around Javier Baez and/or Starlin Castro—particularly Baez—wouldn't be appealing to Philadelphia. Both players have their flaws, but Baez is 22 years old and Castro is 25. Either one could help the Phillies in the present and, more importantly, in the future.

You wonder how much general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is expecting to get in return for Hamels. If he had moved the 31-year-old lefty a few years ago, he could've commanded a king's ransom. Hamels isn't having a terrible season, but his value has dropped a little bit as a result of his performance:

	W-L	ERA	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	BABIP	FIP	xFIP
2011	14-9	2.79	8.08	1.83	0.79	.255	3.05	3.02
2012	17-6	3.05	9.03	2.17	1.00	.290	3.30	3.23
2013	8-14	3.60	8.26	2.05	0.86	.295	3.26	3.44
2014	9-9	2.46	8.71	2.59	0.62	.295	3.07	3.21
2015	5-7	3.91	9.33	2.78	0.90	.307	3.37	3.25

Although the Cubs and Dodgers aren't likely to deal their most prized prospects for the 2015 version of Hamels, they have the kind of organizational strength to throw in a handful of promising players to entice Amaro. Not to mention they're both realistic playoff contenders.

The Dodgers are a financial colossus. Couple that with their deep minor league system, and L.A. is likely in pole position between the two.

Carlos Carrasco

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

After so many players performed above expectations in 2014, some regression was to be expected from the Cleveland Indians. Unfortunately for them, Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes have fallen back to earth this year, and the rest of the lineup hasn't compensated for that drop in production.

As a result, the Indians might be sellers at the trade deadline, with Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan reporting Carlos Carrasco could be on the move:

At least the Indians might be eschewing their tradition of trading their ace of the staff the year after he won the Cy Young Award. Then again, there's still time for them to deal Corey Kluber.

Unless the Toronto Blue Jays would build a trade around a combination of Daniel Norris, Jeff Hoffman and/or Dalton Pompey, trading Carrasco simply doesn't make sense for the Indians.

Although his numbers have declined a bit in 2015, the 28-year-old has shown his 2014 second half wasn't a fluke. His 3.94 earned-run average is deceiving considering the defense around him. His 2.81 FIP and 2.73 xFIP are better indicators as to his performance.

Most importantly, Carrasco is cost controlled through 2020. He'll earn $22 million over the next four years and has options in 2019 and 2020 worth $9 million and $9.5 million, respectively. For a small-market team like the Indians, having a viable No. 2 starter on that kind of contract is worth its weight in gold.

When Cleveland traded the likes of CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez, the specter of free agency loomed, and until recently, the Indians had trouble retaining their best talent. It was either trade Sabathia, Lee and Martinez or watch them leave for nothing in the offseason.

That's not an issue with Carrasco.

Crazier things have happened in Cleveland, but the Indians would be foolish to part with the right-hander unless they receive the kind of return similar to the Bartolo Colon trade over a decade ago. And that deal is looked upon as one of the most one-sided trades in baseball history.

General managers have gotten smarter since then.

Jon Niese

Ben Margot/Associated Press

One of the bigger question marks going into this year's trade deadline is whether the New York Mets will actually pull the trigger on a trade that improves their lackluster offense.

Even Mets general manager Sandy Alderson acknowledged the skepticism surrounding ownership's commitment to winning, per Mike Vorkunov of NJ.com:

Alderson added if New York is to make a blockbuster deal, none of its prized arms will be sent the other way:

Not included on that list is Jon Niese, which could have been a deliberate tactic. According to Stark, the Mets could be willing to trade the 28-year-old left-hander:

Niese should be the exact player the franchise offers in any sort of major trade. He's a solid middle-of-the-rotation guy (4.08 FIP) who's signed through 2018. Those two factors would make him an attractive trade chip.

The Mets have an abundance of pitching—pitching they should use in order to strengthen their offense this year. If New York doesn't make a significant trade before the deadline, it will only add to the perception that owner Fred Wilpon isn't willing to pay the price to make the franchise a serious contender.

Note: Stats are courtesy of FanGraphs.