Getty Yankees top prospect Jasson Dominguez
Hard to say what, exactly, the Yankees will do as we get closer and closer to the July 30 MLB trade deadline. They could stand pat and still have the most dynamic lineup in baseball and arguably the deepest rotation of starting pitchers. The holes on this team are hardly glaring.
But, perhaps that is an impetus to do something bold. The Yankees are so good that they ought to do everything they can to ensure this team goes as far as possible in the postseason. Juan Soto is a free agent after the season, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo are all getting into their middle 30s and it is highly unlikely pitchers like Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes and Luis Gil will all have the great years they’re having again.
Strike while the iron is hot.
And on, “Loud Outs,” the popular MLB podcast/radio show hosted by ex-big leaguers C.J. Nitkowski and Ryan Spilborghs, that spirit yielded a pretty jaw-dropping trade proposal, one that would see the Yankees bring in arguably the two most important names on the trade market: Luis Robert and Garrett Crochet of the White Sox.
Yankees Trade Would Package Prospects, Gleyber Torres
Nitkowski raised the possibility with Spilborghs, and the two hashed out what a package for both Crochet and Robert would look like. It would not be cheap, of course. Crochet is 24 and one of the best pitchers in the league this year, going 6-5 with a 3.33 ERA and a league-high 103 strikeouts in 75 innings. Robert has struggled with a hip injury this season, but was an All-Star who hit 38 homers in 2023.
So the Yankees would need to give up their top two minor-league prospects, outfielders Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones, as the meat of the deal. The Yankees would then give up two other prospects second baseman Gleyber Torres.
Here’s the explanation:
“I think you’re talking about a little bit of, Dominguez and Jones, 100% squarely in the middle of that package. One of their young pitching prospects is squarely in the middle of that package. I would even venture to say, maybe a little bit of a salary dump back, you could maybe give Gleyber Torres, who has not played great, back to the White Sox. And maybe a fourth and fifth piece—a lower-level outfield prospect, I can think of one in particular just because I know him, his name is Jace Avina, from Reno. He is off to a fantastic start this year in High A, doing really well. That’s the type of prospect you can put in there.
“To get both of those guys, those would be the two most coveted players on the trade market right now. Who else has a name that big?”
Garrett Crochet Will Be Costly
It would be a longshot, no doubt, for the Yankees to pull off a blockbuster of that scale—it’s not even clear that the Yankees need another starter or outfielder. And there is no doubt the team puts a lot of value on both Dominguez and Jones.
But if the idea here is to go all-in on the 2024 season, to separate this team from the rest of the pack, it could well make sense to simply go out and acquire two young stars off the trade market, then let roles and playing time sort themselves out.
The notion that a player of Crochet’s talent, age and cost structure—he has two more years of team control—could be on the market is something the Yankees should not ignore. Robert might be a luxury item, but if there is a chance to land Crochet, the Yankees (or any team that wants to compete in the coming years) should be aggressive in making an offer.
It probably won’t come through. The White Sox could ask for shortstop Anthony Volpe, and that would pretty much end the conversation. But if there is a chance to get a deal for Dominguez and Jones, it’s worth exploring.