The New York Yankees’ starting rotation currently consists of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes, Clarke Schmidt, and a large question mark.
They will almost certainly add at least one proven starter via trade, free agency, or both by the time spring training opens in a little over a month.
The Yankees have been linked to a number of high-profile trade targets.According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, they are interested in Cleveland Guardians starter Shane Bieber and Miami Marlins lefty Jesus Luzardo.According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, they have kicked the tires on Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox.
The Guardians, Marlins, and White Sox, of obviously, will not give up their pitchers for free. To acquire a pitcher in a trade, the Yankees will need to sell away desirable players. Here are some of the candidates in their organization who are more likely to be included in a deal.
Major Leaguers
We’ll consider everybody who played in MLB last season to be a major leaguer for the purposes of this exercise, even if some of them may not make the 26-man roster out of spring training.
Oswald Peraza is a young footballer who is looking for playing time and a change of environment. Prior to the 2023 season, the 23-year-old shortstop was a consensus top-100 prospect in MLB. His finest asset is his defense, which could earn him a Gold Glove eventually. While he hit.191/.267/.272 in 191 plate appearances with the Yankees last year, he had a fantastic.836 OPS in Triple-A. Meanwhile, fellow rookie Anthony Volpe earned the Gold Glove at shortstop and will be a roadblock for Peraza for the foreseeable future at his natural position.
Everson Pereira is another highly touted youngster who failed to make an impression in the major leagues. In September, he was given a 27-game trial as an everyday left fielder, but he only hit.151/.233/.194. He hit.300/.373/.548 in Double-A and Triple-A last season and can play all three outfield spots, but his pitch identification and swing decisions need to improve. After the club traded for Juan Soto, Trent Grisham, and Alex Verdugo, he is currently trailing several seasoned major leaguers.
Unlike Peraza and Pereira, Jasson Domnguez had minimal issue versus MLB pitching in a tiny sample size, hitting four home runs in eight games before injuring his elbow. That injury will hold him out for the first few months of the 2024 season, but his prospect luster hasn’t faded. Because the Yankees undoubtedly see him as their future center fielder, he is a more valuable—and potentially less attainable—trade asset.
Ben Rortvedt will not move the needle much in a trade for a frontline starter on his own, but he is still a trade prospect. The Yankees are expected to use Jose Trevino and Austin Wells as their primary catchers this season, but Rortvedt has no minor-league options. The team must keep him on their active roster or risk losing him to waivers. They already have minor league catchers Carlos Narvaez and Agustin Ramirez on their 40-man roster, so they may try to receive something in exchange for Rortvedt rather than carry three backstops in the major leagues.
Prospects
Spencer Jones, the Yankees’ greatest prospect, is a massive outfielder. He gets (unfair) comparisons to Aaron Judge due to his 6’6″ frame, huge raw power, and surprising speed—despite the fact that he bats left-handed. He advanced to Double-A at the end of last season and could reach the majors by the end of this year, despite the fact that he still needs to improve significantly in pitch detection and plate coverage.
He could lead MLB in home runs eventually if he can make enough contact, which is far from certain. Given his great potential, the Yankees will require a significant return to part with him, even if he is a little further away from realizing it than other top prospects who reach Double-A at the age of 22. The team may not even be willing to consider a trade for him, but other clubs will.
In the Soto trade, the organization gave up a lot of pitching depth from the majors and minors, which could prompt them to balk at include another young pitcher in a deal. However, if they continue on their development paths, Chase Hampton and Will Warren have the potential to be future mid-rotation starters. Both have already advanced to the upper levels and are expected to make their MLB debuts in 2024. Their proximity and potential will entice trading partners.
Hampton and Warren are now competing for the fifth starter job, but the Yankees will be fine with their inexperienced arms as depth alternatives. To do so, they’ll need to add at least one additional starting pitcher. If a trade is necessary, anticipate some of the aforementioned players to report to spring training with a different team.
