Market slow for non-walk-year starters

SO FAR the starting pitching that has moved in the trade market has been walk-year types such as J.A. Happ ( Yankees), Nate Eovaldi (Red Sox) and Cole Hamels (Cubs), who has a 2019 option that is unlikely to be picked up.

But a question in this market continues to be whether talented starters with control beyond this season — notably Zack Wheeler, Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer, Minnesota’s Kyle Gibson, and Baltimore’s Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman — will be traded.

The Mets are talking to teams about Wheeler, but have set a high value based on how well the right- hander has pitched recently, plus the fact he will not be a free agent until after the 2019 season. They have said they don’t mind retaining Wheeler and trying to win again next year behind a strong rotation.

Archer is under contract for $21.75 million for 2019-21. The Rays were handling lot of inquiries, but as of early Saturday no one had gotten near their threshold to move him. The Rays had two scouts in attendance Saturday night when the Yankees’ top pitching prospect, Justus Sheffield, started for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. But one was doing regular coverage and the opponent was the Triple-A team for the Braves, who also are contenders for Archer.

As of Saturday night, the Yankees were not viewed as a frontrunner for Archer. The Padres might be, but without the urgency of a playoff push, they might not give up enough to tempt the Rays.

The Twins had intended to focus just on trading just their walk-year guys, as they did in dealing Eduardo Escobar to the Diamondbacks. But they also moved reliever Ryan Pressly, who is under control through 2019, to the Astros because the demand was so great. They also were receiving a lot of bites on Gibson.