MLB Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on Marcus Stroman, Zack Wheeler, More

The market for starting pitchers available before the July 31 MLB trade deadline is becoming clearer by the day. 

With some teams enjoying surges up the standings, others who have been sellers all along could benefit by the changes in the market.

Toronto has been labeled as a potential seller for quite some time, and in Marcus Stroman, it has one of the most coveted players in the eyes of contenders. 

The New York Mets could be in the same spot as the Blue Jays, as one of their top targets is working back to being on the mound.

Other teams, like Pittsburgh, could get involved as a heavy seller as well, especially with teams such as San Francisco and Arizona being more hesitant with their decision making due to their proximity to the wild-card positions.

Latest MLB Trade Buzz

Marcus Stroman 

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

According to MLB.com's Jon Morosi, there were no active trade talks between Atlanta and Toronto over Stroman as of Tuesday. 

The Athletic and Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal shed some light on potential talks between the two sides Sunday by reporting the stance has softened within the Blue Jays organization to make a deal with former general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who is now employed by the Braves. 

If Stroman was traded, it would mark the second straight July in which the Blue Jays shipped a starting pitcher off to a contender, as J.A. Happ was traded to the New York Yankees a year ago.

Atlanta is not the only potential suitor for Stroman, as Morosi reported last week that Philadelphia has displayed interest in the right-handed hurler. 

The Braves would be a much more intriguing landing spot for Stroman since they are in first place and could provide quality prospects from a deep farm system in any deal with Toronto.

What Atlanta has to consider in the build-up to the trade deadline is how much it values its current crop of starters. 

The Braves added experience with the free-agent signing of Dallas Keuchel and Kevin Gausman performed well in his return from the injured list Sunday, as he struck out eight batters while conceding five hits and an earned run over seven innings. 

The other way Atlanta could approach a potential deal for Stroman is he could be used as an experienced arm for the end of the 2019 season and the 2020 campaign since he comes with a year of control.

With Keuchel hitting the free-agent market after this season, the Braves could look to Stroman as a mentor to the younger pitchers on their staff while pushing toward the postseason. 

Philadelphia has a greater need for help on its pitching staff since it has struggled with consistency behind Aaron Nola in its rotation. 

The Phillies were able to add Drew Smyly in the last week, but they are a team that needs to make up ground in the National League East on Atlanta, as they enter Wednesday 6.5 games behind the division leader. 

Stroman is coming off a seven-inning outing in which he conceded six hits and struck out five batters while shutting down Detroit. 

In his last four starts, three of which have been on the road, Stroman has given up a total of six earned runs. 

Those recent performances, along with Toronto's viability to sell, make Stroman one of the better options available on the market, and it would not be surprising if he turns into the valuable trade target, especially if San Francisco decides to hold on to Madison Bumgarner and Arizona does the same with Zack Grienke and Robbie Ray to focus on a postseason push.

Zack Wheeler

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

According to Yahoo's Mike Mazzeo, the chances of Zack Wheeler not being on the New York Mets roster on August 1 are "pretty high".

Wheeler's presence on the trade market would be a major boost to teams in the market for starting pitchers, especially those that were hoping to add Bumgarner, or one or two of the Arizona pitchers. 

The concern with Wheeler is his time on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement that has caused him to miss the majority of July.

Wheeler is expected to return to the mound Friday for the Mets against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a game that is likely to catch the attention of a good amount of contenders. 

During Wheeler's injury absence, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported the Tampa Bay Rays were interested in the 29-year-old.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported during the All-Star break that the Mets engaged with the Boston Red Sox over Wheeler. Since then, Boston made a deal with Baltimore to acquire Andrew Cashner as its fifth starter.

Wheeler is 6-6 with a 9.8 strikeout per nine innings mark and a 3.82 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 19 appearances for the fourth-place side in the NL East. 

But there should be plenty of concerns about Wheeler ahead of the trade deadline because he was sidelined by a shoulder injury.

That could be a red flag to some potential buyers, even if he performs well in his upcoming start against the Pirates. 

Pittsburgh Pirates

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

According to Rosenthal's latest report at The Athletic, the Pirates want to trade Jordan Lyles and are more than willing to move Keone Kela. 

Lyles is 5-6 with a 4.91 ERA, 1.401 WHIP and a 9.7 K/9 ratio in 16 starts for the last-place team in the NL Central. 

The 28-year-old experienced a turnaround on the mound in his latest start against Philadelphia, as he gave up an earned run on seven hits over 5.2 innings. 

Friday's promising outing is a good sign for the Pirates, who might be able to benefit from the recent runs of NL wild-card contenders and earn some type of value in return for Lyles. 

A potential deal for Kela could be more difficult to manage since he has been on the injured list with right shoulder discomfort and was recently suspended for an unspecified violation of his contract. 

Kela has not pitched since May 4, which could cause concern within other organizations that do not have patience to wait on a pitcher to rediscover his form in the middle of a pennant race. 

The Pirates fit the billing of a seller since they are eight games under .500 and sit 7.5 games back of the second NL wild-card position. 

But neither of the two pitchers mentioned above are the most intriguing trade target on the Pittsburgh pitching staff. That title belongs to closer Felipe Vazquez. 

Morosi reported two weeks ago that the Los Angeles Dodgers had interest in Vazquez and that the price on the reliever was expected to be extremely high.

Vazquez has 21 saves in 41 appearances, and he has recorded an ERA of 1.91 with 66 strikeouts and 11 walks. 

Moving Vazquez might not be the ideal move for the Pirates since he has four years left on his contract. Trading a player with that much control would require Pittsburgh to be comfortable with a haul of top prospects, which some franchises would be understandably reluctant to deal. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference.