The answer to that is, Yes and no! With all the New York Yankees injuries and players that are playing sub-par, it would seem likely that General Manager Brian Cashman will at least be looking at his options. The no comes in, because there really isn’t very much out there to be acquired. Add to that the Yankees don’t have many players they will be willing to give up, to make some of the trades to fill Yankee gaps.
There are four most obvious gaps presently with the Yankees. Starting pitching, relief pitching, shortstop, and backup catching. With the expanded playoff format and so many teams in contention for a spot, most teams will be unlikely to part with impactful players.
The starting pitching problem actually started before the season began. Luis Severino had Tommy John surgery and is out for the season. Last year’s best Yankee pitcher, Domingo German is serving out the remainder of his suspension keeping him out 60 games of the 60 game season. More recently James Paxton who had recovered from offseason back surgery went on the IL with forearm flexor problems. At best he will get one or two starts under his belt before the postseason.
Other than these missing pieces, outside of ace Gerrit Cole, the entire pitching rotation is quite frankly rotten. Masahiro Tanaka, Paxton, J.A. Happ, and Jordan Montgomery have combined for an ERA of nearly 6 so far this season. You can’t win many games when you give up six runs per game, and your offense isn’t complete.
Let’s take a look at who the New York Yankees might want to go after. The obvious choice would be Mike Clevinger of the Indians. He would be an excellent number two starter for the Yankees. He is a premier starting pitcher that could have an impact on the Yankee rotation in a season that will see Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, Adam Warren, and most likely J.A. Happ reach free agency. The Indians are just behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central and in postseason contention. It is unlikely that they would let Clevinger go at any price.
Other starters the Yankees might eye include Marcus Stroman who signed a one year contract with the Mets during the offseason but has opted out playing for the Mets this year. He might be willing to pitch for the Yankees and would be a good fit for the Yankees, as he has always wanted to pitch for the Yankees. The question is if the Yankees made a move, would Stroman be ramped up to pitch?
There are less appealing options. The Diamondback’s Robbie Ray. New York Yankee fans have often said the Yankees need Ray. The problem with Ray is that he isn’t’ pitching well this year. He presently leads MLB with 20 walks in 22 innings. A better Diamondback option would be Merrill Kelly, he has been the D’Backs best starter in the early going, pitching to a 2.59 ERA, 3.97 FIP, and 0.989 WHIP in 31.1 innings pitched. He also comes with two club options for 2021 and 2022, making him an attractive candidate to potentially replace the Yankees’ pending free agent starting pitchers. The question with Kelly is the D Backs’ willingness to let him go.
The Pittsburgh Pirates would be the most likely team to trade with the Yankees. The problem there is that the Pirates are so bad this year, that the Yankees won’t want anyone they have to offer. The Philadelphia Phillies might be willing to part with Tommy Hunter (5.14 ERA, 2.29 FIP), or Adam Morgan (4.05 ERA, 2.69 FIP). But the Yankees might see them as trading for another J.A. Happ.
The Yankees will be looking for upgrades to their starting pitchers which will have them watching this week: The Tigers’ Matthew Boyd, the Rangers’ Mike Minor, but the big prize for the Yankees just might be, Trevor Bauer of the Reds. He is on a one year deal and will be a free agent at the end of the season.
The Yankee best bullpen in baseball has big dents in it
The Yankees have a reputation for having one of the best bullpens in baseball, but right now are hurting badly, with two of their most important relievers on the IL. Tommy Kahnle may be out the rest of the season and Zack Britton pulled a hammy last week. Add to that the normally dependable Adam Ottavino has been horrible, lately. The Yankees will be looking for bullpen help.
Possibilities include the Diamondbacks’ lefty, Andrew Chafin, and Ken Giles of the Blue Jays. The Yankees have been interested in him before. If Giles is healthy, he actually makes a lot of sense for the Yankees. He’s a free agent at season’s end, and as we saw with J.A. Happ, the Blue Jays have made deadline deals with the Yanks before. Then there is Ian Kennedy an ex-Yankee. After transitioning to a relief role last season for the Royals, he posted a 3.41 ERA in 63 appearances.
Considering those possibilities, the New York Yankees best bet to bolster the bullpen is the Brewers’, Josh Hader, or Josh Staumont of the Royals. Hader is one of the best relievers in baseball and has dominated since his debut in 2017. A tall, hard-throwing lefty, Hader boasted a 2.62 ERA and 16.4 K/9 in 2019. He wouldn’t just fill Kahnle’s spot, he would instantly become the best reliever in the Yankees’ pen.
Staumont currently owns a 0.79 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched. That translates to a ridiculous 18.3 K/9 rate and a 46.9% strikeout rate. He’s struck out almost half the batters he’s faced! He sits in the 97th percentile in whiff percentage, 98th percentile in expected batting average against, and 99th percentile in strikeout percentage. He is pitching as a man possessed on the mound. He just might like pitching for a team that is in contention.
The Yankees need a backup catcher
Although the New York Yankees have stuck with the questionable defense of Gary Sanchez, they still know that he is subject to injury at any time. So the Yankees really need dependable backups. They started the season making their pick for primary backup behind the plate, with Kyle Higasioka, and with Chris Iannetta and Erik Kratz backing him up. Kyle Higashioka is on the IL and Chris Ianetta chose to retire rather than be sent down to Scranton. That leaves Kratz as the only backup catcher, if either one of Kratz or Sanchez goes down, the Yankees are in huge trouble. Possibilities there, include Luke Maile of the Pirates and Jesus Montero of the Orioles. Both would be low-cost replacements.
The problem at short is named Gleyber Torres
You can’t really have an article on the trade deadline, without mentioning a lingering problem the Yankees have, that being the poor play of Gleyber Torres as the Yankees shortstop. The obvious choice for a replacement is Francisco Lindor. That move would be very costly. Torres leads all of baseball with errors at short, making the Yankees sorry they did not offer Didi Gregorius a contract extension. Wait, could the Yankees make a move to get him back from Philly. Don’t count it out, Didi is having a monster comeback season.