MLB Trade Rumors on Tarik Skubal, Sandy Alcantara and More Ahead of MLB Home Run Derby

The arrival of the MLB All-Star week festivities, including Monday's Home Run Derby, brings with it increased chatter about potential trades for some of the game's biggest players.

Tarik Skubal, Ketel Marte, Sandy Alcantara, and Hunter Goodman are among those whose names are in headlines and columns from the game's most trusted insiders.

Find out the latest on all of them and more in this recap of the baseball rumor mill.

Rays To Be Buyers at the Deadline

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Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that Tampa Bay could be one of the busier teams at the deadline as the organization looks to build on its fantastic first half.

He wrote, "The Rays, who suddenly are seeing that the AL is wide open for the taking, plan to be aggressive buyers at the deadline.

He continued, "They not only have their eyes on Skubal, but they have shown interest in seeing whether the Diamondbacks would move second baseman Ketel Marte and Giants All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez as a backup plan."

Skubal would be an enormous get for the team, which currently sits atop the American League at 56-38.

Plagued by an early injury, Skubal has gone 5-5 in the first half of the year, with a 3.09 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He has not been the dominant, two-time Cy Young winner that we have seen over the last two seasons, but he is still elite and one of the better pitchers in the game.

Adding him to the rotation would give the Rays the ace they need to compete for a World Series title. What they would have to give up would ultimately determine whether they could afford him.

As for Marte and Arraez, both are high-caliber hitters who would add to the Rays' lineup and make them better offensively, an area they have already excelled in this season.

Marlins to Retain Sandy Alcantara?

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Trade buzz surrounding Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara predates the start of the season, going back as far as last year's trade deadline, when many thought he might be a key addition to a contender.

That has not changed this year, though a report from Nightengale suggests interested parties should not hold their breath when it comes to acquiring the righty.

"Marlins owner Bruce Sherman is telling his employees that he wants to keep ace Sandy Alcantara, who went 6-0 with a 3.35 ERA in June, and has absolutely no intention of trading him at the deadline."

Miami is a playoff contender in the National League, a sentence that would have seemed rather implausible during Spring Training. At 52-45, they sit third in the NL East and would be the league's final wild card team if the postseason started today.

Part of that success can be attributed to Alcantara's play on the rubber.

Losing one of its best players would be detrimental to the team and make little sense, especially when considering the organization is enjoying its greatest success in years.

Yankees Seeking Catcher Help

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The busy Nightengale also reported:

"The Yankees are making it no secret that they want to acquire catcher Hunter Goodman of the Rockies or Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers. Yet, the Rockies plan to keep Goodman, who has the second-most homers in the NL behind Kyle Schwarber, and the Twins have no interest in trading Jeffers unless they fall out of the mediocre AL Central race, hanging just 2 games back."

Starting catcher Austin Wells is having the worst season of his Major League career, hitting just .155, with six home runs and 13 RBI. He has been woefully underwhelming. Ali Sanchez, the backup, has not been incrementally better, either.

Goodman would not only give the Yankees an offensive boost, but he would give them a home run threat it is missing amid an injured Aaron Judge's absence. As one of the few stars on the Rockies roster, though, it makes sense that Colorado would not be immediately ready to trade their lone All-Star.

Ditto Jeffers, who is a bright spot on a Twins team that has overperformed this season and has a legitimate shot of emerging from the American League as a Wild Card, if not a division winner.

The Yankees can always try to acquire someone like Adley Rutschman from Baltimore but given his strong season at the plate, and the Orioles' hot streak entering the All-Star break, the team is unlikely to part with one of their franchise cornerstones.