MLB Rumors: Mets helping sellers, Yankees-Crochet hangup, Astros ‘dream’ target

MLB trade season is officially here, as evidenced by Wednesday's trade that sent Aaron Civale to the Milwaukee Brewers.

It's probably unlikely we will see more major deals come to fruition until we get closer to the July 30 trade deadline, but the stove will only get hotter.

With that in mind, Jon Heyman of the New York Post has come through with the latest MLB rumors. Here are the ones most worth your attention.

MLB Rumors: Astros 'dream' trade target revealed

Earlier this season MLB fans had legitimate reasons to wonder if the Houston Astros would consider selling at this year's trade deadline. At one point they were as many as 12 games under .500, which is hard to fathom for this team in particular.

To the surprise of basically nobody, the Astros have rallied to not only get back to .500, but they enter Friday's series opener against the Minnesota Twins three games over .500. They're just 2.0 games back of the first-place Seattle Mariners in the AL West and are 2.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the AL.

Judging by their place in the standings, it is certain that the Astros will be buyers. While they're certainly going to pursue starting pitching help, Heyman revealed that their 'dream' target might not even be a pitcher.

"The Astros, now a clear threat to win the West yet again, seek a starter (or two) and a hitter (possibly a 1B if it’s a clear upgrade). Their dream target is thought to be Diamondbacks 1B Christian Walker, a free agent to be."

Houston figured they were set at first base with Jose Abreu locked in, but Abreu's struggles led to the team demoting and eventually releasing him. They've been using players like Jon Singleton and Mauricio Dubon at first base since who have been better than Abreu, but that's a spot that could be upgraded. Walker would be a tremendous option for them to consider.

He doesn't get talked about much, but he's a legitimate star at this point. The 33-year-old is slashing .271/.345/.526 with 22 home runs and 62 RBI in 87 games while also playing Gold Glove-caliber defense. There's a very good chance he'll make his first All-Star team this season.

Walker might not even be available as the Arizona Diamondbacks just pulled to within one game of .500 with their win on Thursday, but if he is, it's hard to think of a better target for Dana Brown to pursue. The fact that he'd be a rental thus making his acquisition cost more affordable is just the icing on the cake.

MLB Rumors: Possible Yankees-Garrett Crochet hangup

At this point, it feels like a given that the Chicago White Sox will trade at least one if not both of Luis Robert Jr. and Garrett Crochet. They don't have to as they both have several years of control left, but with them entering a full rebuild, this is the time for them to sell high on those young stars.

Robert will be highly touted, but with Crochet being a young budding ace, there's a good chance he'll have a more robust market. One team that will surely be involved is the New York Yankees who, while they have a strong rotation, should always be looking to improve at this time of year.

While Heyman notes that they're big fans of Crochet, he also explains what could hold a potential deal up.

"(The Yankees very much like Crochet. But as was the case in talks regarding ex-Sox star Dylan Cease, they still seem unwilling to part with power-speed OF Spencer Jones, a potential hang-up assuming he remains a South Side target.)"

As was the case with Dylan Cease, if the White Sox want Spencer Jones, no deal will be taking place. Jones is a prospect that the Yankees think the world of, and seemingly are making untouchable.

It's hard to fault New York for this stance. Jones, if he hits, can be a perennial All-Star with his incredible power-speed combo. He could be MLB-ready as soon as early next season, and is one of the top 75 prospects in the sport according to MLB Pipeline.

With that being said, the White Sox have no reason to take a deal that doesn't include Jones. Sure, if New York was willing to center a Crochet deal around Jasson Dominguez or even Luis Gil there might be something, but the White Sox have no reason to take a deal that doesn't blow them away. It'd be hard for the Yankees to do that if Jones isn't available. Hopefully Brian Cashman has something else up his sleeve if he refuses to trade Jones.

MLB Rumors: Mets trade deadline stance could help sellers

The New York Mets lost each of their last two games against the Washington Nationals to fall back under the .500 mark, but the fact that they're even hovering around .500 now compared to where they were at the beginning of June is pretty unbelievable.

The Mets used every bit of the Grimace magic that they could to get back to the .500 mark and right in the thick of the NL Wild Card race. As it stands entering play on Friday, they're just 2.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot.

Things can change, but because of where the Mets are right now, Heyman says that the Mets are not considering being deadline sellers.

"The hitting market has taken a big hit with Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez almost surely staying."

Now, it's only July 5 so again, things can change, but as long as the Mets are realistically in the race, they're not selling. This means that players on expiring contracts like Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez won't be going anywhere.

Alonso and Martinez being off the board does significant damage to the hitting market, as Heyman notes. There are only a small number of sellers to begin with, so those few game-changing bats that are available will only be more expensive as a result of this.

If a team wants a game-changing bat, they might have to put all of their eggs in the Luis Robert Jr. basket. They might have to spend more than they're comfortable with to get a guy like Brent Rooker. It was a seller's market even if the Mets were sellers. The fact that they're not, at least right now, means that prices of the players that the few selling teams are offering should only be higher.