Mets still talking to nine teams about Zack Wheeler trade

While the Mets have pulled Noah Syndergaard from the trade market, Zack Wheeler is still very much in play. Per Joel Sherman, the Mets are fielding calls from nine teams on Wheeler, and they’re willing to move him if their price is met. Jon Heyman reports something similar, dipping into the baseball-writer-parlance bag to say that the market around Wheeler is heating up.

In terms of a specific suitor, the Astros are the contender that has been connected to Wheeler most often, and Jon Morosi reports that Houston is focused on Wheeler and Robbie Ray as the deadline approaches. While Met fans shouldn’t expect to receive Kyle Tucker or a similarly ranked prospect for a rental, the Astros have a plethora of interesting arms in their system that could help replace some of the pitching depth lost in the Marcus Stroman trade earlier this week.

The Braves and Yankees have also been connected to Wheeler, but seem like less likely destinations due to being in-division and cross-town rivals respectively. It also seems possible that the Mets keep Wheeler, given their recent run back into legitimate contention for the Wild Card (five games out as of Wednesday afternoon). Giving Wheeler a qualifying offer at the end of the season isn’t a slam dunk, but could return a prospect similar to what the Mets would get at the deadline if Wheeler leaves in free agency.