MLB Rumors: Top 2019 Trade Reports on Noah Syndergaard, Trevor Bauer and More

Two of the most coveted starting pitchers on the MLB trade market have been heavily linked with moves away from their teams for quite some time. 

Noah Syndergaard and Trevor Bauer are two of the hottest commodities left available ahead of Wednesday's 4 p.m. deadline since Marcus Stroman has already been dealt to the New York Mets. 

The Mets continue to be at the forefront of the rumor mill because Syndergaard is attracting interest from franchises in need of a jolt in their rotation for the postseason push. 

Bauer and the Indians are locked in a battle for first place in the American League Central with Minnesota, but even with the ball club's playoff prospects improving, a concrete decision has not been made regarding the hurler's status with the team.

Top MLB Trade Reports

Noah Syndergaard

Ben Margot/Associated Press

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, a handful of franchises in need of a starter are either not willing to meet the Mets' high price tag for Syndergaard, or do not believe they have the proper collection of top prospects to appease the NL East side in negotiations. 

The Minnesota Twins fit those categories, as they refused to include outfielder Byron Buxton when they reached out about Syndergaard, per LaVelle Neal of the Star Tribune. 

Houston and San Diego have experienced something similar to the Twins in their attempts to pry the 26-year-old away from Queens. 

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported the Astros turned away from Syndergaard conversations because it did not want to send top prospect Kyle Tucker out of the organization. 

The same can be said about the Padres and MacKenzie Gore, as MLB.com's Jon Morosi tweeted San Diego was adamant about not including its top young player. 

After the Mets acquired Stroman, Passan reported the "likelihood is strong" that either Syndergaard or Zack Wheeler is dealt before the trade deadline passes. 

If that is true, the Mets could conceivably find a suitor for Syndergaard in the next 24 hours, even with negotiations not going well. 

Although it would be less than ideal for the Mets to ship Syndergaard across town to the New York Yankees, MLB Network's Jon Heyman noted last week that most teams understood they would only deal Deivi Garcia if it was for Thor. 

The Yankees have a clear need in their rotation after a poor weekend in Boston and CC Sabathia was sent to the injured list. 

However, it would be hard for the Mets to justify dealing one of their best players from Queens to the Bronx, especially with two years remaining on his contract. 

If no one is able to meet the high demands of the Mets, they could always keep Syndergaard and see what type of late-season playoff push he and Stroman can produce before testing the trade waters again in the offseason. 

The Mets have plenty of ground to make up in the NL wild-card race since they are six games back, but as we have witnessed with Cleveland and San Francisco, one surge is enough to blast your way into postseason contention.

Trevor Bauer

Colin E. Braley/Associated Press

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Indians are still looking at situations in which they can deal Bauer and they "haven't made a hard decision" to trade or keep him. 

All you need to do is glance at the standings once to pick up on the main reason why Cleveland should not part ways with one of its best players. 

Cleveland leads the AL wild-card race and is putting pressure on the Twins with two games separating the sides going into Tuesday. 

If the Indians commit to dealing Bauer, there will be plenty of teams ready to jump on that possibility.

According to MLB,com's Mark Feinsand, one general manager labeled the Yankees and Houston Astros as teams with best chances to land Bauer. 

The main issue Cleveland could have in dealing with the Yankees and Astros is they are two ball clubs it could take on in the first round of the postseason.

Bolstering the rotation of a direct competitor seems like a risky proposition, especially with the Indians gaining belief in their title credentials thanks to a surge up the standings in the last month. 

If the Indians choose to trade Bauer, they need to find a way to remain ahead of Oakland and others in the wild-card race, and Olney proposed the idea of going after someone like Tanner Roark to fill the 28-year-old's rotation spot. 

Rosenthal noted in a report that the Reds are reviewing some trade scenarios, with Roark one of the players potentially on the move. 

But a set of transactions like that is less than ideal, unless the Indians receive a haul of young players they can't resist from one of Bauer's potential suitors. 

After all, this is a player who is on the verge of his fifth consecutive 10-win season and has given up three earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. 

Cleveland is walking on a tightrope when it comes to Bauer, and if it makes a move that does not produce a sufficient return, it could damage it in the immediate future.

Alex Colome

Steve Nesius/Associated Press

According to Morosi, Philadelphia has been in contact with the Chicago White Sox regarding closer Alex Colome. 

The Phillies showed their intent to improve before the trade deadline by acquiring Jason Vargas from the New York Mets Monday. 

Displaying interest in Colome makes sense since he has 21 saves and a 2.27 ERA and the Phillies have struggled with their bullpen.

None of Philadelphia's top relievers possess an ERA under three and current closer Hector Neris has 18 saves in 45 appearances. 

Although Neris has four straight scoreless outings to his name, he conceded seven earned runs over a five-game stretch in July, which simply is not good enough for a closer on a contending team. 

You have to go back to May to total up the last seven earned runs Colome conceded for the White Sox.

Since the Phillies are six games behind Atlanta in the NL East and one game off the second wild-card spot, they have to at least explore the market for potential upgrades. 

The White Sox are 12 games back in the AL wild-card and 17 behind Minnesota in the AL Central, so they should not have any concerns about keeping Colome for the stretch run.

By targeting a closer on a team that is already out of the pennant race, the Phillies could face fewer difficulties in trade discussions and should try to get a deal done to make a run at the Braves and Nationals in August and September.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference.