The New York Yankees have several needs, the most pressing one being shortstop. However, they could also use a center fielder, at least two starting pitchers, and a first baseman. The front office appears to have soured on Luke Voit as a long-term option there because of his issues with injuries, mostly.
For weeks, the Yankees have been linked to first baseman Matt Olson. He is a bonafide slugger with a good glove, so he is a logical fit in the Bombers’ lineup and defensive alignment. Last season, he hit 39 homers while slashing .271/.371/.540 with a 146 wRC+, accumulating 5.0 WAR in the process.
However, the Yankees should also be looking at pitchers, and the A’s have a few. Chris Bassitt is a fine option, but he is 32: the Yanks would surely prefer someone younger. How about Frankie Montas, then?
The Yankees need an effective workhorse
Montas is 28, and had a fantastic 3.37 ERA in 187 innings. He is a workhorse, he is effective, and he can make batters look foolish with this phenomenal splitter:
He led the A’s in pitching WAR during the 2021 campaign with 4.1. Montas had a rough pandemic season in 2020 (5.60 ERA) but was great in 2019 (2.63 ERA) before being suspended for PEDs use. He is exactly the kind of pitcher the Yankees need to slot behind Gerrit Cole and ahead of the rest of the rotation.
Of course, luring Olson and Montas from Oakland will be very pricy. The Yankees should be prepared to put Voit and his three remaining control seasons on the table, with another controllable big leaguer (Gio Urshela?) and several great prospects: think of Luis Gil, Oswald Peraza, or Austin Wells. That isn’t a proposed final offer: it’s just an idea of what it would take to land those two.
Would the Yankees do such a trade with the A’s?