MLB Trade Rumors: Latest on Yankees, Francisco Lindor, Josh Bell and Lance Lynn

It has been relatively quiet at the MLB winter meetings, with a few notable signings and one major trade that sent Lance Lynn from the Texas Rangers to the Chicago White Sox.

However, there have been some intriguing trade rumors emerge over the past few days.

Superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor remains on the block as the Cleveland Indians try to find the right deal to flip the face of their franchise. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees are still searching for pitching help, and after sitting out the Lynn market, they have turned their attention to an interesting bounce-back candidate in Pittsburgh.

Will we see any major deals come to fruition Thursday?

As the final day of the winter meetings gets underway, here's a quick rundown of the latest rumors from around the league.

Yankees 'Were Not Engaged' on Lance Lynn

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

It was a foregone conclusion going into the offseason that the Texas Rangers were going to flip workhorse ace Lance Lynn ahead of the final year of his contract.

That made it easy to speculate on a return to the pitching-needy New York Yankees.

The 33-year-old joined the Yankees at the 2018 trade deadline and posted a 4.14 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 54.1 innings before departing in free agency, and over the past two seasons with the Rangers, he has emerged as one of the best pitchers in the American League.

He finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting in 2019 and led the AL in innings pitched (84.0) en route to a sixth-placed finish in the balloting this year.

Despite that success and the Yankees' glaring need for starting rotation help, it doesn't sound like there was any interest in a reunion prior to Lynn being dealt to the Chicago White Sox.

"Sources told The Post that the Yankees were not engaged with the Rangers on Lynn," wrote Joel Sherman of the New York Post on Tuesday.

One way or another, the Yankees are going to have to improve their starting staff.

Indians 'Prepard to Listen Aggressively' on Francisco Lindor

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

It's no secret that Cleveland Indians star Francisco Lindor is on the trade block, and according to a recent report from Buster Olney of ESPN, his market could be ramping up.

"By all accounts from sources around baseball, the Indians are prepared to listen, aggressively," Olney wrote on Wednesday.

Olney went on to note that Cleveland has taken a similar approach with CC Sabathia (swapped for Michael Brantley), Cliff Lee (Carlos Carrasco) and Trevor Bauer (Franmil Reyes) ahead of their own impending free agency.

The 27-year-old is projected to earn between $17.5 million and $21.5 million in his final year of arbitration, according to Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors, which is a prohibitive price for a cost-conscious Cleveland front office that already expects to lose him in free agency.

In a down year by his standards, Lindor hit .258/.335/.415 for a 102 OPS+ with 13 doubles, eight home runs and 27 RBI in 60 games.

Despite that, he is still a consensus superstar, and there's no ignoring the 28.4 WAR he has racked up in six big league seasons.

It's likely going to cost something close to what the Los Angeles Dodgers gave up to acquire Mookie Betts last offseason, but he would be a game-changing addition to any team.

Yankees Discussing Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon with Pirates

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

The most compelling rumor to emerge from the winter meetings Wednesday links the New York Yankees to two of the best players on the rebuilding Pittsburgh Pirates roster.

According to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Yankees have had conversations with the Pirates about a deal to acquire both first baseman Josh Bell and right-hander Jameson Taillon.

Bell, 28, emerged as one of the most productive sluggers in baseball during the 2019 season, posting a 142 OPS+ with 37 doubles, 37 home runs and 116 RBI. However, he took a step backward during the shortened 2020 campaign, hitting .226/.305/.364 with eight home runs and 22 RBI.

Considering Mike Ford, Mike Tauchman and Tyler Wade are the only left-handed hitters projected for spots on the Yankees roster, along with switch-hitter Aaron Hicks, it's not hard to see why the Yankees would be interested in Bell. He could split his time between first base and designated hitter with a lot of moving parts in the New York lineup.

Taillon, 29, is an interesting potential solution to the Yankees' rotation needs.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft, Taillon has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, but he seemingly turned a corner in 2018. He went 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 179 strikeouts in a career-high 191 innings.

The following year, he lasted just 37.1 innings before UCL revision surgery sidelined him the rest of the season and all of 2020, but he's healthy once again going into 2021. If he can return to even 75 percent of what he was in 2018, he would be a welcome addition to the New York staff.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.