MLB Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on Yu Darvish, Justin Verlander and More

A flurry of trades occurred late Friday night, as Jeremy Hellickson, A.J. Ramos and Howie Kendrick all found themselves on new teams.

Teams are making moves at warp speed in advance of the non-waiver trade deadline on Monday at 4 p.m. ET.

Here's a look at the latest chatter around two starting pitchers, who have combined for 10 All-Star Game appearances, and one of the hottest relievers on the trading block.

Yu Darvish

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been linked to Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish in recent days, but they would have to part with one of their top players in the farm system in order to land him, per Jon Morosi of Fox Sports and MLB Network:

Right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler (No. 17 on Baseball America's midseason list of the top 100 prospects) and outfielder Alex Verdugo (No. 35) figure to be a big part of the Dodgers' future, so naturally, Los Angeles isn't keen on letting either one of them go, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports:

If that's the price Los Angeles needs to pay for Darvish, it's not worth it. L.A. has gone 72-31 this season, winning six in a row going into Saturday. The Dodgers have accomplished this feat despite the fact their entire starting pitching staff has landed on the disabled list at some point this season.

Darvish would be a great acquisition, even if he is having a down year (4.01 ERA). He'd form a fantastic one-two-three punch with Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood in the postseason. But unless the Rangers lower their asking price, then L.A. should hold still.

Justin Verlander

With the Detroit Tigers 11 games under .500 through Friday, they are playing out the string. They've already dealt slugging outfielder J.D. Martinez to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and starting pitcher Justin Verlander, who has spent his entire 13-year career in Detroit, has been involved in trade rumors as well.

However, Morosi reported on Friday that Verlander may not be going anywhere after all:

Verlander has a no-trade clause and a contract that is paying him $28 million per year in 2018 and 2019, per Baseball Reference, so those are two big stumbling blocks en route to a deal.

He's also struggled a bit this season, as he's 5-7 with a 4.50 ERA, but Verlander is coming off a 2016 campaign wherein he led the league in strikeouts (254) and finished second in the AL Cy Young race (arguably, he should have taken first). Verlander is also in good form, striking out 28 batters over his past four starts and earning a 2.77 ERA.

He'd be an excellent asset to a contending team's rotation, especially considering his playoff experience (Verlander has won two American League pennants), but the obstacles may be too big for an interested team to hurdle before the deadline.

Brad Hand

If you take a look at the 15 teams that rank in the bottom half of the league in bullpen ERA, you'll notice six are occupying a playoff spot or within four games of a postseason berth.

Therefore, expect more relievers to be dealt before the Monday as rebuilding teams trade some bullpen arms to playoff contenders.

One of those relievers is San Diego Padres left-hander Brad Hand, who has at least four teams vying for him, per Heyman and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:

Hand has been phenomenal in 2017, striking out 70 batters in 54 innings and earning a 2.00 ERA and an All-Star Game appearance. He's also on fire: Since June 14, Hand has made 19 appearances and allowed no runs.

Furthermore, he does well against batters on both sides of the plate. Right-handers have only managed a .209 batting average against him this year, while left-handers have hit .172.

Given San Diego has long been out of the playoff picture, Hand should be on the move shortly for a few talented prospects.