We're keeping track of all the latest free agent and trade rumors.

June 28: If Rays sell, who might be available?

After winning 99 games a year ago and reaching the postseason for the fifth straight season, the Rays have started out just 40-41 in 2024, leading to speculation that they might sell prior to the Trade Deadline.

However, according to The Athletic (subscription required), the belief in the industry is that Tampa Bay intends to be competitive next season and will shy away from trading players it views as integral for its 2025 roster.

Closer Pete Fairbanks (signed through 2025 with 2026 club option), starter Zach Eflin (signed through 2025), outfielder Randy Arozarena (controllable through 2026) and first baseman Yandy Díaz (signed through 2025 with 2026 club option) are all in that bucket.

The Rays could have a surplus of starting pitching by the Deadline if Jeffrey Springs and Shane Baz make healthy returns from the IL in July. If they end up trading from that surplus, Aaron Civale and Zach Littell -- both controllable through 2025 -- are considered the most likely arms to be dealt, per The Athletic's report.

Of course, when it comes to the Rays, nothing can be ruled out. The club always has one eye toward the future and has shown a willingness to trade away key veterans for younger, less expensive assets, as it did when it dealt Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot to the Dodgers for Ryan Pepiot and Johnny DeLuca last December.

With Civale and Littell unlikely to bring back substantial returns, it’s possible the Rays could make Eflin available, especially considering he’s due to earn a team-high $18 million in the final season of his three-year, $40 million contract. If so, the 30-year-old would be one of the top starters on the market.

June 28: Yankees, Rangers among clubs reportedly scouting struggling Cubs

According to The Athletic (subscription required), teams such as the Yankees and Rangers “have recently had a noticeable scouting presence around the [Cubs],” who are currently in last place in the National League Central with a 38-44 record and might be headed for a Trade Deadline sale.

The Athletic mentions center fielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger as a player whose name will likely come up in trade discussions if the Cubs opt to sell.

Bellinger can opt out of his contract after this season, though he’d have to walk away from $50 million in guaranteed money across 2025-26 to do so. Uncertainty surrounding Bellinger’s opt-out could complicate trade talks.

The Yankees were linked to Bellinger prior to last year’s Trade Deadline and this past offseason, when the left-handed slugger was a free agent. The team’s outfield is in good shape with Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo playing every day, but Bellinger could fill New York’s void at first base with Anthony Rizzo expected to be out until August after fracturing his right forearm.

The Rangers have more of a need for Bellinger in the outfield, but they’ll need to play better in the coming weeks to put themselves in position to be big Trade Deadline buyers. After winning the World Series in 2023, Texas entered Friday with a 37-44 record.

June 28: Latest on Bichette, Vlad Jr. as Trade Deadline looms

Given where the Blue Jays stand in the playoff picture -- they're 13 1/2 games back of the Yankees in the AL East and 6 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot -- the likelihood of the club selling this Trade Deadline has increased significantly in recent weeks, especially after Toronto's seven-game losing streak that was snapped on Tuesday.

Unsurprisingly, Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have been at the center of the trade rumblings surrounding the team. Both players are under club control through the 2025 season and have played like stars before, even if they're both not at those peaks this season.

In the case of Bichette, he's endured a career-worst season with a .618 OPS and four home runs in 68 games, meaning the Blue Jays would be selling him at his lowest value. In three straight years from 2021-23, Bichette was worth at least four Wins Above Replacement (FanGraphs) and hit 20-plus home runs.

Neither Bichette nor Guerrero has shied away from answering questions about their potential availability lately.

Asked Thursday by sports broadcaster Hazel Mae if he would be surprised if he were moved at the Trade Deadline, Bichette said, "No. Not surprised at all.”

Guerrero, meanwhile, recently expressed that he would be "happy to help any team," even if it was the divisional rival in New York. Expanding further on the topic to Omar Guzmán of Virus Deportivo, Guerrero said: "It is not that I am trying to take back what I said about the Yankees. But this is a business. I sat down and spoke with my dad [Vladimir Guerrero] and my family, and this is a business. And I said I would never again talk about this topic [Yankees], and lots of people have asked me about it."

While Guerrero has not reached the lofty heights of his 48-home run season in 2021, he's still produced as a well above-average hitter since then -- and has been quite good this season. Guerrero entered Friday with an .816 OPS, 11 home runs and a .369 OBP which is the second-best mark in his career outside of the .401 OBP he had in '21.

Earlier in June, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said on MLB Network that trading Bichette and Guerrero "just doesn't make any sense for us." However, Atkins appears to have softened his stance just a bit.

“The coming days are exceptionally important to us, and understanding the market is also exceptionally important to us in either way,” Atkins said Thursday. “We’re focused on winning. We’re focused on building the best possible team we can this year and supporting them the best we can. If we get to a point where we need to adjust, we’ll be prepared to do so.”

Granted, an adjustment might not necessarily mean trading Bichette or Guerrero. The club could opt to sell but only move players who are due to become free agents at the end of 2024, such as catcher Danny Jansen, starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and center fielder Kevin Kiermaier.

The Blue Jays could also still try to sign Bichette and/or Guerrero to contract extensions, though MLB Network insider Jon Heyman (writing for the New York Post) hears that past negotiations with the two players never came close to an agreement.

June 26: Will Jazz be the best position player traded this summer?

With the White Sox clearly in selling mode, center fielder Luis Robert Jr. has been involved in trade rumblings for weeks now. However, it’s not a certainty that he’ll be dealt prior to the Trade Deadline.

Surveying MLB executives on the best players they expect to be traded this summer, The Athletic's Jim Bowden (subscription required) expected Robert’s name to come up more often. However, most execs think Chicago’s asking price makes it less likely he’ll actually be dealt. Robert is signed through 2025 and has club options in 2026 and 2027, which removes some of the urgency from the situation from the White Sox perspective.

Instead, the Marlins’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. was the name that came up the most among position players.

Miami, like the White Sox, is an obvious seller. The club has already started making moves, trading Luis Arraez to the Padres in early May. Closer Tanner Scott, a pending free agent, is also likely to be traded.

The 26-year-old Chisholm has dealt with persistent injury problems as a big leaguer, but he has managed to avoid the IL this year and is hitting .264 with 10 homers, 14 steals and a .768 OPS over 77 games. He offers an intriguing blend of power and speed, having averaged 28 home runs and 32 stolen bases per 162 games since the beginning of 2021.

Chisholm is controllable through 2026, so it’s possible the Marlins will look to keep him around. But with new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix building for the future, Chisholm is arguably the team’s best remaining trade chip after pitcher Jesús Luzardo (controllable through 2026) went down with a back injury that is expected to keep him out for months.

Per Bowden's report, some teams are interested in Chisholm as a center fielder, where he's played since 2023. Others, meanwhile, view him as a middle infielder.

June 25: White Sox zero in on potential returns

As the Deadline draws nearer, the scuffling White Sox are reportedly scouting their potential returns for their big-name trade chips. Per Ken Rosenthal, Patrick Mooney and Katie Woo of The Athletic (subscription required), Chicago is focusing on a few farm systems in particular -- the Dodgers and Padres, as primary suitors for left-hander Garrett Crochet, and the Mariners, a potential fit for Luis Robert Jr., have the eyes of top White Sox scouts.

June 21: Morosi identifies Tigers' trade chips

Although the Tigers still have aspirations to buy at the Deadline, as they sit in fourth place in the AL Central, six games under .500 and 13 games behind the first-place Guardians, time is running out for them to justify such an approach. In a Friday appearance on MLB Network, Jon Morosi identified the players who, if the Tigers don't turn things around, should make the most attractive trade pieces for rival GMs.

Topping teams' wishlists is likely to be Jack Flaherty, in the midst of a dramatic bounce-back season after struggling with injuries and ineffectiveness for much of the previous four seasons. Given the rash of injuries to starting pitchers early in the season, several contenders -- including the Orioles, who have already traded for Flaherty at the Deadline once before -- will be on the hunt for reinforcements down the stretch. Morosi also speculated that impending free agents Mark Canha (.246/.349/.375, 106 OPS+) and Gio Urshela (.284/.325/.361, 95 OPS+) could also bring in solid returns, but that ace Tarik Skubal, given his two remaining years of team control, is likely to remain in Detroit.

June 15: After latest SP injury, O's might be more likely to make trade

The Orioles, sitting 3 1/2 games back of the Yankees in the American League East as of Saturday morning, were already expected to be active buyers at the Deadline, but news of Kyle Bradish's return to the injured list with a recurrent right UCL sprain has created a much more immediate need.

Since the start of the 2023 season, Bradish has been a revelation for the Orioles, going 14-7 with a 2.81 ERA (142 ERA+) and 221 strikeouts in 208 innings, and his injury only exacerbates an existing issue in Baltimore. General manager Mike Elias recently announced that neither John Means nor Tyler Wells will return in 2024 after both required surgery to repair the UCLs in their pitching elbows. This most recent blow leaves the club to lean heavily on the trio of Corbin Burnes, Cole Irvin and Grayson Rodriguez (who, notably, has never thrown more than 122 innings in a professional season.)

The Orioles system is jam-packed with position players, but in-house options to plug the holes in the rotation are limited beyond prospects Cade Povich (who debuted on June 6) and Chayce McDermott. Dean Kremer, out with a right triceps strain, is expected to begin a rehab assignment on Sunday, but given their position in what is shaping up to be an intense playoff push, things are looking increasingly tenuous. Should the Orioles dip into their prospect reserves to bolster their rotation, they might choose to do so sooner than later.

June 14: Multiple teams showing interest in Kopech (report)

The Yankees, Phillies and Royals are among the teams that have recently scouted White Sox closer Michael Kopech, according to a report from Bruce Levine of 670 The Score.

Chicago is an obvious seller with just over six weeks to go before the Trade Deadline, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan (subscription required) recently reported that the club has no untouchables on its Major League roster. Per Levine, rival teams believe the White Sox are prioritizing controllable young pitchers in trade talks.

Kopech, who is controllable through 2025, is one of the team’s most likely trade candidates. The former top prospect is back in the bullpen this year after struggling as a starter in 2023, and while his 4.91 ERA, 5.67 FIP and 5.5 BB/9 aren’t exactly encouraging, he could be a worthwhile addition for a contender in need of bullpen help.

The 28-year-old ranks in the 99th percentile in average fastball velocity (98.8 mph), the 90th percentile in expected batting average (.200), the 93rd percentile in strikeout rate (32.3%) and the 85th percentile in whiff rate (30.7%), so there may be some untapped potential here.