What will it take for the New York Yankees to land a superstar pitcher this offseason? A colossal $300+ million offer was not enough to bring Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the Bronx.
Pivoting to secondary options on the free agent and trade markets, the Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers star RHP Corbin Burnes are inextricably linked. Now the only question remains whether or not the Yankees can successfully reel him in.
These Yankees Prospects Have the Allure to Make a Deal For Brewer’s Corbin Burnes Happen
Thomas Carannante of Yankees Go Yard floated these Yankees players as options for general manager Brian Cashman to package in a proposal for Burnes:
“But maybe we can deduce what a Burnes deal might look like should this drag out into the summer. Pereira and Roderick Arias? Pereira and Brando Mayea? Jorbit Vivas? Brock Selvidge? Henry Lalane? There are a lot of names that would intrigue the Brewers if they enter some sort of a re-tool/rebuild mode. Either way, you get the framework,” Carannante said.
A run-through of Yankees prospects supports Everson Pereira as an option the Brewers may be moved by in potential trade offers. Pereira has already been seen in Major League action. A .151/.233/.194 slash line and 14 hits to 40 strikeouts did not scream domination in his rookie campaign, but the upside he carries is a major calling card in the open market.
Prospects like Arias and Mayea bring their own set of enticing skill sets to the table. Arias is a 6-2 shortstop, running the 60-yard dash in 6.5 seconds. He is lauded for being a five-tooled prospect who delivers in the infield beyond his years.
Meanwhile, Mayea is the No. 9 international prospect in the class of 2028 and No. 2 on FanGraphs. The 18-year-old Cuban posted a commendable .782 OPS and his 22 stolen bases in 38 games in the 2023 Dominican Summer League showed a prospect with a feel for keeping infields on their toes.
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Where Do the Brewers Stand in Their Future Outlook and How Can the Yankees Capitalize Off of Such?
The Brewers prevented Burnes from entering arbitration by signing him to a one-year, $15.3 million deal on Jan. 11. Yet, with all of the rumors ruminating around Burnes, it’s feasible to proceed under the notion that the Brewers will field and even accept an offer for the 2021 NL Cy Young winner, especially if they invest wholeheartedly in a rebuild.
Taking on a collection of young Yankees talent could pay off in the long run for the Brewers, but with the way Burnes has risen to stardom and dominated the pitching ranks over the last three seasons, the Yankees may need to come harder to form a juggernaut rotation ahead of the 2024 MLB season.
