Last thought for the night: it's too early to really be saying stuff like this, but I think there's a little smoke to the idea that we're willing to deal a starter or a bullpen piece for a bat.
The starters are probably a wait and see situation, in order to basically test whether someone gets desperate because hardly any starters are available. If we are confident Falter will have another rehab start or two and be back (didn't watch, but he threw 60 pitches and went 3 innings, giving up 2 in the first and then seemingly settling down, so would figure he needs at least one more), then it would definitely be feasible to move someone.
If he were performing a little bit better, trading a starter for Mullins wouldn't be the worst idea. There's not as much upside as there is with Jazz, so it would depend in part on how much you believe in a bounce back as an option for next year. Here's an interesting but lazy cherrypicked stat: since June 1, he's hitting .256 with a 110 wRC+. He still gives you a little bit of pop and some speed on the basepaths, so you can squint and see something in the vicinity of the everyday player Jazz provides, albeit one who could be on a downward trend.
That said, I meant to mainly talk about the relievers here. If we couldn't make a baseball trade with a starter, then I'd just bank the depth as we've talked about for a few pages.
With the relievers, it's a tricky path to navigate, because run prevention is really what will make the most impact for us. That said, I think if you can make a baseball trade involving a reliever for an MLB bat, especially one under control for multiple years, you have to really think about it. Maybe I am overlooking someone, but as I pointed out a few pages back, the main team I see this being a fit for is the Orioles, who have a glut of corner OF bats.
I expect the Orioles to be in heavily on starting pitching, so it's tricky to speculate specific names if they end up getting Crochet, but here's my stab. I think the Orioles are in a position to either make their one big trade and get Skubal (which likely involves Holiday -- maybe they get it done without him, but Skubal is arguably the best pitcher in baseball), or else they will turn to other trades. Crochet is kind of a peculiar fit there, because if they use him to chase down the division, he will be out of innings by the playoffs. A reunion with Flaherty seems more their stride, and even though that would cost a little, it gives them someone viable for a playoff series with Burnes and Rodriguez.
In any case, back to the point, they need relief help and we have a surplus of guys. The bold move would be Bednar, but I just can't see us trading our closer. The two names I'd focus on are Chapman and Holderman. Chapman gives them the veteran who is in his best form and has tons of playoff experience, whereas Holderman would give them several more years of control.
I don't have a strong preference between the two. I think Chapman makes more sense to trade purely from an asset standpoint, but if Holderman's extra years of control would secure you the better prospect (for me this would be Beavers over Stowers), then I'd sell high on Holderman. It would be a risk, but in addition to Bednar and the other of Chapman/Holderman, we have seen Mlodzinksi and Nicolas both emerge as solid options this year. Santana actually looks like he might be serviceable with his slider, at least for now.
Stratton was solid before going down with his injury and is working his way back. Same with Borucki. I believe Borucki will be a free agent, but everybody else is controllable and you'll potentially have some young players as well as an Oviedo returning from injury as well as Moreta as options.
My point is just that as a baseball trade, it would make sense as a calculated risk. It's probably too video game-y to pitch Mullins + Beavers/Stowers for Chapman/Holderman + Priester/Falter/Gonzales/Perez would be a perfect way to deal from strength and address the OF holes. It might take some prospect evening, but you can iron out something with either a controllable reliever (Holderman) or starters (Priester/Falter) going back for the controllable OF.
Or a simpler RP for OF one for one deal, such as Chapman for Stowers or Holderman for Beavers. Again, Jazz remains my 1A preference and I think there are a lot of ways to get it done that wouldn't hurt too badly. But I think the Orioles young outfielder glut and need for all pitching really makes them the ideal trading partner, though would definitely take some creativity to find something that is doable for both sides.