
After watching the San Diego Padres trade for star pitcher Blake Snell, formally of the Tampa Bay Rays, it begs the question, should the New York Yankees be selling the farm in a win-now scenario?
The Yankees haven’t reached the World Series in over a decade, despite having the highest payroll in all of baseball and plenty of talent to get the job done. As a team that utilizes analytics heavily, it is quite disappointing they failed to reach the final stages of the post-season, and selling high on some of their farm players could help them get there in 2021.
General manager Brian Cashman has taken this off-season slowly, waiting for other teams to contact DJ LeMahieu on a potential contract. As long as alternative options don’t offer more than the Yankees, they can drive down his price tag and force his representatives to compromise on a deal. This would help the Yankees save some money and allow them to reallocate toward positions that need upgrades.
Nonetheless, starting pitching remains a major focal point, as they lost three starters this off-season and don’t have the depth to move forward into 2021 with confidence.
They are scheduled to gain back Luis Severino at some point and Domingo German, but Deivi Garcia and Michael King would be expected to start regularly. Trusting youngsters to hold down the fort during a grueling regular season campaign is not advisable, so selling prospects now for a quality pitcher could be the right decision. In fact, making a run at Snell would’ve been a good idea for the Yankees, who are now in no man’s land when it comes to starting pitching.
The New York Yankees could unload the farm:
1.) Estevan Florial
Florial has been disappointing the last few seasons, picking up consistent injuries and watching his stock plummet in the process. He might be a solid option to sell on, considering he is a five-tool prospect that simply hasn’t managed to remain consistent. Some team could see him as a viable starter in the near future, and the Yankees have plenty of depth in the outfield.
2.) Deivi Garcia
Garcia is a promising up-and-coming pitcher who received his first MLB action in 2020. He finished the season with a 4.98 ERA over 34.1 innings pitched. He logged a 33.3% ground ball rate and 8.65 strikeouts per nine. His time in the big leagues was certainly overwhelming, and he got a taste of the strength and physicality players have at the next level.
I believe he is capable of being a solid rotational starter, but he might never reach ace status. Selling high on him now might be a decent idea of the Yankees can acquire a player with years left on a contract that is cost-efficient.
3.) Michael King
Michael King is another starter Yankees have high hopes for. At 25 years old, he only pitched in 26.2 innings this past season, ending with a 7.76 ERA. He was batted around quite a bit, but he has plenty of potential, and the Yankees see him as a key piece moving forward. If management views him that high, other teams must regard him as a quality prospect as well. This might be a good time to sell high if the Yankees feel he has a middling ceiling.
4.) Jasson Dominguez
Of course, we can’t leave out “The Martian.†Dominguez is a five-tool prospect that hasn’t even reached the drinking age yet. His unparalleled power and abilities defensively make him an intriguing target for any team. If the Yankees are willing to pass on a potentially generational talent, they can likely acquire a pretty penny for his services.