David Price and Jon Lester were traded before the nonwaiver deadline in 2014. Price, Cole Hamels and Johnny Cueto got dealt in '15.

Those were the days.

The '16 deadline lacked top-of-the-rotation star power -- the best starters moved were Rich Hill, Matt Moore, Drew Pomeranz and Andrew Cashner.

And 2017?

Not to spoil anyone's fun, but if I were a general manager I would not be terribly excited about the starting pitchers who are likely to be available.

I also would not part with top prospects for any of these pseudo-aces, at least not the way each is performing at the moment.

That said, things change quickly, and pitchers such as Jose Quintana, Gerrit Cole and Sonny Gray are more than capable of getting hot in the six weeks leading to the deadline.

For now, this much is known: While most of the top contenders are likely to pursue rotation help, the market includes more questions than answers.

Consider where some of the biggest names stand: