MLB Trade Rumors: Latest on Yankees, Astros and Top Available Pitchers

This year's MLB free-agent market is thin on impact starting pitching, and that could make for a busy winter on the trade market.

Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel and Nathan Eovaldi are the leading candidates for long-term deals, while seasoned veterans Charlie Morton (35) and J.A. Happ (36) are also capable of making a difference in the late stages of their respective careers.

Beyond those five guys, it's largely a collection of injury risks and back-end starters.

It should come as no surprise, then, that some of the biggest trade rumors to have surfaced here in the early stages of the offseason have been pitching-centric. Ahead we've taken a look at some of the more notable recent chatter.

James Paxton Drawing Interested from Astros, Yankees

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Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto was quick to downplay the likelihood of a full-scale rebuild after rumors surfaced that the M's might be open for business this winter.

However, he didn't exactly sound like he was closed off to the idea of trading some big names either, telling Greg Johns of MLB.com: "Clearly over-dramatized is the best way to put that. We're open-minded to different ways we can get better, but what we're hoping to achieve is to reimagine our roster to look at it in terms of what is our quickest path to a championship club."

In the days since those comments during the annual GM meetings, left-hander James Paxton has emerged as perhaps the most likely candidate to be moved among the club's big names.

The Houston Astros are reportedly one team showing interest as they look to replace departing free agents Charlie Morton and Dallas Keuchel, while also dealing with the loss of Lance McCullers Jr. who recently underwent Tommy John surgery.

To take those head-to-head stats a step further, in eight starts against the Astros over the past two seasons, Paxton has gone 6-1 with a 1.89 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 46 strikeouts in 47.2 innings. That's an impressive run of success against any in-division opponent, let alone one of the most potent offenses in baseball.

It's unlikely the Astros would be willing to part with Kyle Tucker, Forrest Whitley or Josh James in trade talks, but their system is plenty deep enough behind those three headliners to get a deal done.

Outfielder Yordan Alvarez and right-handers Corbin Martin and J.B. Bukauskas could all work as potential centerpieces.

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees have also been linked to Paxton as they continue their search for rotation help.

The Yankees have already re-signed CC Sabathia to a one-year deal to rejoin Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka in the rotation, but they're not finished adding arms by any means.

If the Mariners are looking for one top-tier prospect in the deal, the headliner from the Yankees side would likely be Estevan Florial, since left-hander Justus Sheffield will be off-limits.

Otherwise, they could put together an attractive package of high-ceiling arms in a system rich on pitching talent.

Paxton, 30, pitched a career-high 160.1 innings in 2018, going 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a 208-to-42 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

He comes with two more years of team control and is projected to earn an extremely team-friendly $9 million in his third year of arbitration, according to MLBTradeRumors.

Yankees Discussed Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco at GM Meetings

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Rumors surfaced last week that the Cleveland Indians will be willing to listen to offers for a number of high-profile veterans this offseason as they continue to deal with financial restrictions.

The Yankees became an obvious speculative trade partner for Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco as they look to bolster the rotation.

Now it appears there's at least some basis for that speculation, as the two teams reportedly met during the recent GM meetings.

Aside from the aforementioned Florial, the Yankees have a teenage outfielder with an extremely high ceiling named Everson Pereira, and he's a name to know as the team continues to scour the trade market for pitching help.

Kluber (33 GS, 20-7, 2.89 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 222 K, 215 IP) and Carrasco (30 GS, 17-10, 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 231 K, 192 IP) would both be game-changing additions to a Yankees focused on chasing down the rival Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

Time will tell if any of these front-line arms are actually moved, but it's already shaping up to be an exciting winter on the trade market.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.