With Marcus Stroman making a surprise move to the Mets, the New York Yankees will focus in on a select group of starting pitchers that clearly won’t include the Blue Jays ace.
With Stroman out of the picture, it opens up the door further for a Noah Syndergaard deal, but both Madison Bumgarner and Trevor Bauer remain available. In Bauer’s most recent outing, he allowed eight runs over 4.1 innings, which surely didn’t help his cause, but one dud in a solid season is acceptable.
The Yankees, however, are open to dealing both Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar, who has seen his value decrease in what was supposed to be another solid season for the second-year starter.
Yankees seem willing to consider Miguel Andujar and/or Clint Frazier in deals for the starter they need. Deivi Garcia appears to be off limits, except possibly for Syndergaard (which is a long shot for other obvious reasons)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 28, 2019
The Bombers weren’t willing to let Deivi Garcia go, which might have been the reason Toronto went after the Mets prospect pool. This was a smart move for the Yankees, as Garcia has shown fantastic ability so far and is only 20-years-old.
It will undoubtedly take a few quality prospects to pry an above-average starter away from any team, but the willingness to part with Frazier or Andujar increases their chances.
Who will the New York Yankees dive into now?
I believe the Yanks will focus in on Bumgarner, who is one of the league’s premier postseason pitchers. The Bombers’ starters last year were atrocious, allowing 16 runs in a loss to the Red Sox in the ALDS. Avoiding that same result is the goal at this point.
Madison owns an 8-3 record with a 2.11 ERA in the postseason. His dominance in the playoffs could help the Yankees succeed beyond 2018’s result, which is what they need.
In his 11th seasons, Bumgarner has a 3.66 ERA over 22 games. His strikeouts are up significantly from last year, and he seems to be of ace quality. With Luis Severino destined to make a return at some point, having two pitchers that can go deep into games and hold their own in the postseason is very valuable.