Although earlier in the offseason, the New York Yankees said they were satisfied with the starting rotation they already had, which has not proven true. Last week, added two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber is still interested in adding more starters. There is no question that the Yankees. have a bright future ahead with some great pitching prospects, but most of them need more time to develop properly.
With the Yankees picking up Kluber and still looking for more help, the Yankees realized they could not depend on untested and inexperienced arms regardless of what they said earlier. Please don’t count on what they say; watch for what they do, and presently looking for more help. In an earlier article today, I exposed the Yankee’s interest in Jameson Taillon, a nice option that would cost the Yankees little in trades. However, even with him, the Yankees have not acquired or traded for a relief pitcher of the stature of Tommy Kahnle, who has left for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
If the Yankees truly want to beef up the bullpen beyond Chad Green, Zack Britton, and Aroldis Chapman, they have to go after a reliever like Germán Marquez. Other than the risk involved in Kluber returning to his previous form, if he pitches well for the Yankees, he will be a free agent at the end of the season and likely want big money to stay with the team. The New York Yankees don’t have a lot of wiggle room going forward. If the Yankees trade for a premium reliever, they should get one that they will have team control over for several years. Marquez fits that bill. He will become a free agent in 2025. He would add $8 million to the payroll next year.
The problem may be prying him away from the Colorado Rockies if the Yankees can do that, it could give the Yankees a substantial arm for the long run. Like many pitchers, he didn’t have a great year last season going 4-6, but he did have a respectable 3.75 ERA, compare that to Jordan Mongomery’s 5.11. Marquez is also a healthy pitcher that started an average of 30 games from 2017 to 2019. He goes an average of six innings in most of his games. At age 25, he is not yet in his prime and will only improve.
Another consideration is that Marquez pitches at Miles High Stadium (Coors Field), where it’s a hitters game. His career ERA there is 5.10, but away more down to earth that ERA drops to 3.51. Marquez misses bats (9.1 career K/9), is stingy with walks (2.4 BB/9), his elite fastball velocity (95.9 mph in 2020, in the 85th percentile), and throws several good secondary offerings, including a curveball and a slider that both had a whiff rate over 40 percent last season. Every indication is that Marquez would pitch better at Yankee Stadium than he does for Colorado.
The big question is, what would the Yankees have to give up to move Marquez to the Bronx? The one sure thing is that it would take several of the Yankee’s best prospects to get a deal done. MLB Network’s Joel Sherman suggests this package:
- RHP Clarke Schmidt or RHP Deivi Garcia
- OF Clint Frazier or INF Miguel Andujar
- RHP Luis Gil or RHP Luis Medina
It is doubtful that the New York Yankees would be all in on a trade that would include Clint Frazier or Deivi Garcia; the others suggested are certainly possibilities. Time will tell as the Yankees hope to improve the team further.