MLB Rumors: Astros miss, Jack Flaherty truth, future trade candidates

The MLB Trade Deadline has officially come and gone. There might not have been any superstars on the move, but the number of trades that were executed certainly made up for it, with every team making at least one deal by the time the deadline passed.

While there isn't much to look forward to in terms of trades right now, since three days have passed since the deadline, it feels appropriate to reflect on what transpired. What deals were close to happening? Have opinions changed about certain deals with more time passing since the deadline?

FanSided's MLB insider Robert Murray alongside fellow co-host Adam Weinrib discussed the aftermath of the deadline on the latest episode of the "Baseball Insiders" podcast. With that in mind, here are the latest MLB rumors for your consumption.

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MLB Rumors: Potential offseason trade candidates among those not dealt at deadline

While most players rumored to be available did eventually get moved, there were several players that insiders predicted might get dealt who stayed put with their current teams.

Luis Robert Jr. and Garrett Crochet obviously headline that list of those who stayed put, but they'll certainly be back on the trade block over the offseason. According to Murray, there could be more players who fit that category of those who didn't get dealt now but very well could over the winter.

"I'll give you two names that I think have a shot of being moved in the offseason. The first one is going to be much more likely, and that's Nestor Cortes. The buzz around him was real. If the Yankees got another starting pitcher, I think he was gone."

It was rather unexpected to see Nestor Cortes Jr. pop up in trade rumors, but the Yankees were reportedly interested in moving him if they got another starting pitcher. That did not happen so Cortes stayed put, but they could potentially find themselves in the pitching market over the offseason, and have prospects like Will Warren, Chase Hampton, and Clayton Beeter who are knocking on the door.

Knowing all of this and the fact that 2025 will be Cortes' final year of club control, it makes sense for the Yankees to have him on the block. There should be tons of interest for a solid mid-rotation arm like Cortes. As for the second name, that's where this gets more interesting.

"This is just how they operate, but it's the Milwaukee Brewers and Devin Williams. He is going to be entering the final year of his contract. The Brewers in years past, look at what they did with Josh Hader, trading him with a year and a half of control left... They also did it with Corbin Burnes when they got Joey Ortiz and D.L. Hall... They've done both of those when those guys were controllable for at least a year, and Williams is now entering the final year of his deal. I bet you the Brewers at least listen on it. Whether or not the pull the trigger on it remains to be seen, but I think Williams will be a name to watch this winter, because that just screams something that the Brewers might consider."

Devin Williams, one of the best relievers in baseball, is Murray's surprising pick. Williams hasn't been involved in trade rumors, and it might not make a lot of sense for a first-place team to consider it on the surface, but with how the Milwaukee Brewers operate, it makes sense. As a smaller-market team it's highly unlikely that they pay Williams in the 2025 offseason, so trading him while they can to recoup a good amount of value makes a lot of sense with how they've operated in the past. Murray mentioned Josh Hader and Corbin Burnes as past examples, and Williams would fit that.

He isn't quite as confident that he's dealt as he is about Cortes, but he expects Williams to at the very least be in rumors.

MLB Rumors: Were concerns about Jack Flaherty's medical concerns real?

It was rather surprising to see Jack Flaherty, arguably the best pitcher available not named Garrett Crochet, remaining on the Detroit Tigers until right before the deadline hit. It was even more surprising to see the Tigers get a rather underwhelming return for Flaherty, especially after seeing what the Blue Jays got for Yusei Kikuchi.

Soon after the deadline passed, a report came out discussing the New York Yankees backing out of a preliminary agreement with Detroit because of concerns with Flaherty's medicals. Brian Cashman never mentioned medicals, all he said about Flaherty was that values never matched up. Murray was asked to give some insight into what really happened with Flaherty. Were there medical concerns? Is that why he was traded for relatively cheap?

"In this case, I'm not able to confirm that [report], but I can confidently say that a couple of days before that, I had heard that there was at least one team that had medical concern with Flaherty and had pulled out of the race. I didn't know who that was, but Ken's [Rosenthal] report would seem to indicate that was probably the Yankees. If you look at the package that the Dodgers gave up for Flaherty and compare that with some of the other deals, especially Kikuchi, it makes sense why that package was lighter compared to those other deals."

While Murray can't confirm Ken Rosenthal's report, he fully believes what has been reported about Flaherty to be true. He heard before the deadline that one team had medical concerns, and after Rosenthal's report, it makes sense to assume that team was the Yankees.

The bottom line with this is if you look at what the Los Angeles Dodgers gave up compared to what the Astros gave up for Kikuchi, it's clear something was going on. Flaherty, is a far better pitcher than Kikuchi having a much better season, and they're both rentals. The only reason to believe that the Tigers accepted a lesser offer is because stronger offers weren't out there. Stronger offers weren't out there probably because there were concerns about the medicals.

If Flaherty is hurt, he hasn't shown that at all with how he's pitched lately, but the Dodgers are comfortable taking what a team like the Yankees might believe to be a risk.

MLB Rumors: Astros trade deadline misses

What a weird trade deadline this was for the Houston Astros. Not only did they give up a ridiculous haul for just a couple of months of Yusei Kikuchi, a glorified mid-rotation arm at his best, but they didn't make any other major moves. They acquired Caleb Ferguson to help out their bullpen, but that was really it.

With those being the only moves made by Dana Brown, it was safe to wonder what the Astros were up to. Did they come close to anything else? Murray dove into a couple of interesting Astros tidbits.

"The player I'm most surprised that did not get moved was Yandy Diaz. The Rays had a lot of interest in Yandy Diaz. The Mariners were interested. I know the Astros coveted him. I believe also that the Astros may have been in on Jazz Chisholm quietly."

The Astros were connected with Yandy Diaz on numerous occasions before the deadline, and it's easy to see why. The Astros have needed a first baseman ever since they cut bait with Jose Abreu. Jon Singleton hasn't been awful, but that was clearly a position that could've been upgraded. Hearing from Murray that the Astros "coveted" him yet couldn't get a deal done is frustrating, especially when they gave up what they did for Kikuchi.

The surprising Houston connection is that with Jazz Chisholm Jr. His fit with the team wouldn't have been quite as clear with their infield filled and their outfield being pretty stout when healthy, but after seeing what Chisholm has done in his short time with the Yankees, the Astros might regret missing out on him as well.