MLB Trade Rumors: Breaking Down Buzz on Tigers, Phillies and More

This year's trade deadline is shaping up to be one of the craziest in recent memory, with a number of stars already moved and another bunch rumored to be heading to new teams before Friday. 

Below, we'll break down some of the most intriguing teams and rumors as the trade deadline arrives.

The Philadelphia Phillies

Outside of maybe the Kansas City Royals, the Philadelphia Phillies are the most intriguing team as the trade deadline beckons.

Cole Hamels is the obvious reason for that, and the team has told potential suitors to make their best offers by Wednesday, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.

The teams currently in talks with the Phillies, according to Stark, are the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Stark also noted that the Phillies reopened talks with many of those teams to discuss players those teams previously said they were not interested in trading.

This soft deadline supposedly being imposed by the Phillies makes sense, as it gives them two days to sort through the "best offers" teams are willing to make, narrow down their possibilities based on those offers and try to squeeze more prospects or better prospects out of a team by negotiating offers against the other offers they've received.

In essence, Ruben Amaro Jr. can call up Team A, tell its general manager that Team B made a better offer, tell him exactly what that offer was and try to get Team A to jack up their own offer before the Friday deadline.

Of course, whether other teams play ball or not on Wednesday with their "best offers" is another matter entirely.

Regardless, it makes sense for the Phillies to unload Hamels, their best trade chip, during their miserable 2015 season. The Phillies are in a full rebuild at this point, while Hamels would be an excellent asset for a contending team, as he's an ace who has postseason experience and was phenomenal during the team's 2008 World Series title run.

The Detroit Tigers

Don't expect the Tigers to be sellers. In fact, with a wild-card spot within reach, they should actually be buyers. 

Joel Sherman of the New York Post probably helped put to rest any lingering notions that the team would deal David Price with this tweet:

And Jerry Crasnick of ESPN added more on the possibility of the team becoming buyers:

Indeed, when Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski was asked about the status of the team at the trade deadline by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, he texted back, "We are doing everything we can to try and qualify for the playoffs."

Dealing Price wouldn't make the Tigers any better. So there you have it. 

Carlos Gonzalez

Matt Marton/Associated Press

Talk about a rebuild.

A day after trading Troy Tulowitzki and LaTroy Hawkins to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Jose Reyes, Miguel Castro and prospects Jeff Hoffman and Jesus Tinoco, the Colorado Rockies are reportedly shopping Carlos Gonzalez as well, according to Heyman.

There are somewhat conflicting reports out there, however, as Crasnick heard that the team is more likely to shop him this winter rather than before the trade deadline. If the team is worried about selling tickets down the stretch, that mentality would make sense. 

Still, it appears the Rockies are conceding to the end of an era, as Tulo and CarGo simply haven't had enough help to return the team to the postseason. By moving on from both now, the team at least can speed up the rebuilding process.