MLB Rumors: Trade Buzz on Chris Archer, Cole Hamels and More

With the clock ticking as we approach the 4 p.m. ET Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline on July 31, we're seeing some more deals go down.

Two American League East contemporaries, the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees, came to a big agreement on Thursday.

The Yankees shipped third basemen Brandon Drury and outfield prospect Billy McKinney to Toronto in exchange for left-handed starting pitcher J.A. Happ, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com and Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports (h/t Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic):

The Yankees needed to bolster their rotation and did so with a guy they have faced twice this season.

Expect many more deals to happen as we get closer to the deadline. Perhaps the players discussed below will be moved?

Nationals Ready to Sell?

With a 50-51 record and 5.5 games out of the National League Wild Card Round, the Washington Nationals have put themselves in a precarious position.

They're not necessarily out of it yet, but it wouldn't be surprising to see them sell or buy come the trade deadline.

However, it appears they could be leaning one way over the other.

According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, the Nats have opened talks on potential trades, notably relievers Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson and Shawn Kelley:

As Passan noted, all three are set to become free agents after this season.

If Herrera were to be dealt, it would be his third team of this season after beginning the campaign with the Kansas City Royals before being shipped to Washington on June 18.

Though he's been solid, the 28-year-old has not been the 1.05 ERA self he was with the Royals. He has an ERA of 3.29 with the Nationals, which is fine but not at his previous level.

Kelley, 34, is another Nationals reliever who has been excellent this season with a 2.59 ERA through 31.1 innings of work.

The 37-year-old Madson is the lesser of the bunch with an ERA of 4.66 this season.

Considering they're all about to free agents, they are obvious assets for the Nationals to ship should they concede this season.

With starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg going back on the disabled list, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, they need to bolster their rotation to try to keep this going. Of course, they need outfielder Bryce Harper to start hitting better, too.

When it comes down to it, the Nationals still have a shot. They still have the weekend to figure out what happens. For example, if they lose every game this weekend, they'll probably sell. If they're closer than they are now in the wild-card picture, they could stick around.

We'll know soon what the Nationals intend to do in what has been a tumultuous season.

Cubs Trying to Land Hamels?

The Chicago Cubs are another team that needs to upgrade its rotation.

At the top, they're OK with Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana, but the back end, including Yu Darvish when healthy, needs some work. Tyler Chatwood has a 4.98 ERA and Mike Montgomery has done fine in his 10 games started.

They might address that sooner rather than later.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Cubs are progressing in their attempt to land Texas Rangers starting pitcher Cole Hamels:

Bringing in the 34-year-old is interesting. He's not the Hamels we have come to know and appreciate. He hasn't been great this season. 

Hamels has an HR/FB rate of nearly 21 percent, which isn't so hot. But changes of scenery and a competing ball club could change things. Baseball is a mental game and such things matter.

Considering the size of Hamels' contract, the Cubs could probably get away with not giving up too much for the lefty. If that's the case, why not take the risk? 

If Hamels can return to any kind of form, he will be an upgrade for the back end of this rotation at worst.

Padres Want Archer?

According to Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com, approximately eight teams are interested in Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer.

Morosi noted the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs as all being interested, but one team that also sticks out is the San Diego Padres.

The Padres are nowhere near contention, but they could be putting pieces in place to try to compete next year and maintain a young rotation.

Morosi reported the Padres have refused to make Fernando Tatis Jr. or MacKenzie Gore part of the deal, but the MLB.com reporter has heard they would be willing to part with "one or two" of Francisco Mejia, Luis Urias and Cal Quantrill.

The Rays are in a bit of an odd spot. They're in the middle of the pack—they're not horrible, but they're not exactly contenders.

Morosi did mention the Rays are not in a rush to trade Archer unless they're blown away, and that makes sense. With team options, they have control of the 29-year-old through 2021, and they could be contenders by then.

It would be surprising to see the Padres make this move, especially with so many other contending ball clubs dying for rotation help and much more willing to part with major prospects in return.

Statistics courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference.