MLB Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on Noah Syndergaard, Shane Greene, More

Even after making the biggest deal to date before the July 31 MLB trade deadline, the New York Mets are the team mentioned most on the rumor mill. 

The Mets acquired Marcus Stroman from Toronto Sunday, and they have remained in the news due to the status of Noah Syndergaard. 

Since they are 50-55, the Mets are not viewed as a contender at the moment six games back of the second wild-card spot in the National League, which is one of the reasons why teams are trying to pry Syndergaard from Queens. 

A few teams have checked in on Syndergaard, with the San Diego Padres the most prevalent ball club in the latest rumors. 

In addition to the Padres, the Oakland Athletics have interest in the 26-year-old right-handed pitcher, but he is just one of their rumored targets. 

Latest MLB Trade Rumors

Noah Syndergaard

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the likelihood is strong that the Mets trade either Syndergaard or Zack Wheeler after bringing in Stroman.

The Stroman deal could have an effect on a trade for Syndergaard, as MLB.com's Jon Morosi reported the Padres have made it clear top prospect MacKenzie Gore will not be included in talks after the Mets did not include a player within MLB.com's Top 100 future stars in their exchange of players with Toronto. 

USA Today's Bob Nightengale added more context to the negotiations between the Mets and Padres by reporting San Diego is not optimistic about a deal getting done because of the steep price tag. 

The Mets set the market for the most-coveted pitchers by sending the No. 4 and No. 6 organizational prospects to Toronto in exchange for Stroman. 

Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson now rank fifth and seventh, respectively, on Toronto's chart of top minor league players. 

Syndergaard comes with one more year of team control on his deal compared to Stroman, which in theory would not make the price tag to acquire his services much higher. 

San Diego has a loaded farm system, and one of the reasons the Mets may try to keep their demands high is to replenish parts of a prospect collection that was sacrificed for Stroman.

The Padres' pursuit of Syndergaard comes with the future in mind, as they sit one game further down the wild-card race than the Mets. 

While a late-season surge is still a possibility, the Padres have to leap over five teams just to challenge St. Louis, Washington and the Chicago Cubs, all of whom are tied at 56-49. 

The Padres have been discussed the most in the race for Syndergaard, but they are far from the only team that has checked in on the status of the 26-year-old.

According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland made calls on Syndergaard as well as Wheeler in its pursuit to upgrade its rotation. 

The Athletics do not have as strong of a farm system as the Padres, but they could conceivably be in the mix for Syndergaard based on the haul Toronto earned for Stroman. 

Oakland, who has already traded for Homer Bailey and Jake Diekman, has a half-game advantage over Tampa Bay for the final wild-card position in the American League. 

The potential addition of Syndergaard would improve the club's rotation and bring in a piece that might be able to help the A's fend off challenges from Tampa Bay and Boston.

Shane Greene

John Minchillo/Associated Press

Slusser also reported that the Athletics have made a call to the Detroit Tigers about closer Shane Greene. 

Morosi noted Sunday the New York Yankees have asked about Greene in an attempt to fix some of the concerns they have about their pitching staff. 

Oakland already possessed a strong back end of its bullpen with Blake Treinen and Liam Hendriks before it acquired Diekman from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for a pair of prospects. 

Bringing in a closer from another team would only bolster the bullpen further with a playoff berth in sight.

Recently, one of the trends to pop up around the majors is to have more reliance on the bullpen, with an opener used for a few innings before the relievers take control of the game.

Oakland can already use this approach in the postseason with Treinen, Hendriks, Diekman, Yusmeiro Petit and Joakim Soria. 

Adding Greene, who has 22 saves in 37 appearances with a 1.22 ERA, 41 strikeouts and 11 walks, would make Oakland's relief unit one of the best in the league. 

The Yankees have a more immediate need in their rotation after the shellacking they took over the last week against Minnesota and Boston. 

A potential acquisition of Greene would allow the Yankees to use their starters in one fewer inning because they would have another trustworthy arm in front of Aroldis Chapman to finish off games. 

Aaron Boone's team is not in massive trouble yet in the American League East, but with Tampa Bay and Boston both less than 10 games behind, they can't afford to have another week like last in which they lost three of four games to the Red Sox. 

With another four-game series looming against the Red Sox starting Friday, the Yankees need to make an addition or two to limit the damage and keep challenging Houston for the best record in the AL.

Martin Maldonado

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

According to The Athletic's Robert Murray, Chicago Cubs catcher Martin Maldonado has been mentioned in trade discussions, with the Astros emerging as a team of interest. 

The Cubs acquired Maldonado from the Royals as an insurance policy at the position when Willson Contreras went on the injured list. 

With Contreras expected back in the lineup soon and Maldonado only in possession of four appearances since joining the Cubs, it makes sense for them to try to find a better suitor for him. 

Maldonado has a .285 on-base percentage, .349 slugging percentage and .634 OPS over 78 games with the Royals and Cubs. 

The Astros have an established starter behind the plate in Robinson Chirinos, but they could use some depth at the position and an extra bat off the bench down the stretch. 

Although they are eight games ahead of Oakland in the AL West, the Astros are neck-and-neck with the Yankees for the best record in the AL, as they hold a slight advantage at 68-39. 

Maldonado's numbers are better than Max Stassi's, who has a .471 OPS with one home run and three RBIs over 30 games. 

The potential acquisition of Maldonado might make a small difference in Houston's offense, but sometimes the smallest of factors can play a role in changing a pennant race, and the 32-year-old has familiarity with the team already since he was brought in from the Los Angeles Angels before the 2018 trade deadline.

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Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference