During last year’s trade deadline, I reported on Empire Sports Media that the Padres displayed interest in Yankees‘ catcher J.C. Escarra.
While San Diego didn’t end up trading for the left-handed hitting catcher, they did make a move at the deadline by acquiring Freddy Fermin for a pair of young pitchers.
A report earlier today from The Athletic’s Dennis Lin suggests the team could explore moving pitchers for both salary relief and roster improvements elsewhere, and that’s where the Yankees might serve as a perfect fit.
Escarra remains on the roster alongside a bevvy of young pitchers at the Major League and Minor League levels, and we could see these two sides strike an unexpected deal as the Yankees are on the hunt for pitching.
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One of the most fascinating trade targets on the Padres would be starting pitcher Nick Pivetta, who has an interesting contract structure that could both work for and against some clubs.
A four-year contract that allows the player to opt-out next year or the year following, any team acquiring him would hope for him to be a rental, but could end up owing him over $50 million over the next three seasons.
Would the Yankees be willing to take such a gamble? That is not clear, but they could use a right-handed starter that doesn’t have a long-term financial commitment.
Even if the contract goes sideways, it would expire in three years and wouldn’t completely wreck the team’s payroll, with San Diego also having some relievers who are both productive and familiar to New York.
Whether it’s a reunion with Wandy Peralta or perhaps adding a true power pitcher in the form of Jeremiah Estrada, there’s way for San Diego to both replenish a weakened farm system and add to their MLB roster in one swing.
I don’t think Escarra is enough of a draw on his own to land Estrada or Pivetta, but I do think he’s enough to be part of a deal for either player.
Maybe this is a deal where someone like Luis Gil (three years of control) could go to San Diego as a reclamation project, or perhaps an Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz entices San Diego more.
That being said, I’m not sure to what degree the Yankees would be engaged in trade talks with the Padres, I do not want any of this to be aggregated as interest beyond the Padres once having interest in Escarra this past deadline.
Maybe Freddy Fermin’s addition could have softened their interest or perhaps J.C. Escarra is the perfect platoon, there’s not really a way to know until the offseason shakes out.
With that being said, the Yankees’ potential surplus of position players (Jasson Dominguez maybe?) and pitchers could help them with the Padres having some arms they could offload.
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