The Ryan Weathers trade could be the Yankees’ way of shrugging their shoulders and saying the big-name pitchers were too expensive prospect-wise, which is totally possible.
Given what Shane Baz cost and what Weathers himself cost, the price tags for guys such as Freddy Peralta or MacKenzie Gore might be sky-high, but weirdly enough this trade might have the inverse effect.
In a trade where the deal centered around MiLB position players Brian Cashman kept his treasure chest of young MLB/MiLB pitching intact when the Brewers and Nationals (among others) want that exact thing in return.
With Cody Bellinger still out there and the bullpen market stalling a bit, the Yankees could put together an incredibly well-rounded roster because of this Ryan Weathers trade, and here’s exactly how I’d map that out.
READ MORE: The Yankees are nearing the end of the Cody Bellinger saga
End the Cody Bellinger Negotiation One Way or Another
The Yankees’ most ideal situation would be Cody Bellinger accepting the five-year $155 million offer currently on the table since it would end their left field question mark and give them a very well-rounded offense.
I understand the hesitancy around the Yankees bringing back the same offense that they had last season, it did lead baseball in Runs Scored and projections believe in this group to be in the mix to do it again in 2026.
Without Bellinger, FanGraphs projects the Bronx Bombers to narrowly edge out the Dodgers in position player WAR and other projection models such as Steamer, ZiPS, and THE BAT X tend to view them favorably as well.
A return of the left-handed hitting outfielder would bolster this already-impressive group (on paper) and would also make them significantly better on the defensive side of the ball, which does affect run prevention.
You’re going from about a 1.5-2.0 WAR left field outcome from Jasson Dominguez and going to a 3-4 WAR outcome from Cody Bellinger, so while this contract is probably underwater on day one at least you got better.
If he gets a six-year $180 million deal from a team who lost out on Kyle Tucker then that would blow, but I would not want the Yankees to match that offer.
Making a Big Trade To Help the Yankees Form a Super Rotation
If the Brewers like Luis Gil then the Yankees should be making this deal happen because they have enough arms to exchange one (and some prospects) for another.
Even if they don’t like Gil specifically, the question of whether they like Will Warren or Elmer Rodriguez as a headliner instead would matter a lot here too.
The Yankees would not be damaging their overall depth chart and would be seriously increasing their odds of winning a World Series if they were able to pull this kind of trade off.
That is of course if they only trade one of those three for Freddy Peralta, and depending on which of the three it is, the prospect cost has to come into consideration.
You are trading for one year of a top ~25 starter in Major League Baseball, not a frontline ace but someone who is only going to increase your payroll by $8 million and could outpitch a good amount of no. 1 starters in the AL.
This is not a player you can justify trading multiple top 100 prospects for or a top 100 prospect alongside someone like Will Warren without looking at the rest of the trade market on my opinion.
Ryan Weathers helps because you can talk about trading a Major League starter for a better starter, but he also keeps you from making a desperate and potentially disastrous overpay to improve the rotation out of sheer necessity.
Some alternative options I would consider is Drew Rasmussen or MacKenzie Gore (even though he’s a lefty) since I also believe these guys to either be clearly better or have a higher ceiling than Will Warren or Luis Gil.
Round Out the Yankees’ Bullpen With a Cheap Addition
While Justin Wilson could end up retiring, a one-year contract could be very beneficial for the Yankees since he’s a high swing-and-miss pitcher from the left-handed side.
I like the fact that he pitched for the Red Sox because that means he dealt with a poor ballpark environment for pitching and that gives me a lot of confidence he’s got another year in him.
Steamer projects a 3.45 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched, I would take that in a heartbeat for this bullpen especially knowing I’ll get a chance to push some starters into reliever roles down the stretch.
It’s not a sexy move but adding a left-handed veteran reliever for cheap who can provide a healthy amount of strikeouts would be a really nice get for the Yankees.
Despite the struggles he had here in 2021 I would avoid trying to overthink whether Justin Wilson can handle New York or not because it just feels creating a reason to not want to sign a perfectly good fit for this bullpen.
He has a good fastball, throws a nasty slider, still has excellent stuff, and would give the Yankees a fearsome foursome in the backend of the bullpen with David Bednar, Camilo Doval, and Fernando Cruz already there.
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