The New York Yankees have had one of the most action-packed weeks leading up to the trade deadline this Thursday. Aaron Judge was placed on the injured list, and the Yanks dipped into the trade market. Fortunately, Judge is expected to return after his IL stint after positive news on the testing front.
Regarding the trades, New York acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Rockies and Amed Rosario from the Nationals. McMahon is expected to take over at third base, which fills the Yankees’ biggest hole in the lineup, and Rosario will serve as a platoon against left-handed pitching.
Yankees Pitching Needs
The Yankees have opted to make minor improvements to the lineup over big splashes. While these trades haven’t been the most exciting, fans must recognize that the Yankees already possess the best offense in the American League. Third base was a massive hole, but they realistically only needed a bottom-of-the-order bat. That’s exactly what they acquired.
The Yankees’ biggest weakness is their pitching. As a staff, New York’s pitching ranks 17th in ERA. Outside of Max Fried and Carlos Rodón, they don’t have much healthy rotation depth. Their bullpen also needs at least one other arm, if not two.
The Best Potential Trade
Luckily, there’s a selling team that lines up perfectly to get a blockbuster deal done: the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees have already been linked to their outfielder, Harrison Bader, but there’s a better deal to be made. The Twins have three pitchers who can take New York over the top: relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax, as well as ace starter Joe Ryan. Trading for Ryan and one of the bullpen pieces would put the Yanks back into being a legitimate contender.
Joe Ryan would be the centerpiece of this trade. Last season, he emerged as a front-line starter with an ERA of 3.60 (xERA of 2.87) and a 0.99 WHIP. This season, his numbers are even better as he currently holds a 2.82 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 137 strikeouts. At this point, it’s hard not to consider him one of the best starters in the league.
On the relief pitching side, Duran holds a career ERA of 2.47, paired with a 99th percentile groundball rate. He’s one of the best right-handed bullpen arms in the MLB. Jax is having a down season, but his expected ERA is 2.97. His whiff and strikeout rates are in the 99th percentile, and his chase rate is even better in the 100th percentile.
In terms of what they’d cost, well, the Yankees would be going all in to pull off this deal. All three of the Twins pitchers are under team control through 2027. So yes, that means trading away an absurd amount of prospect capital, which would almost definitely include George Lombard Jr, Carlos Lagrange, Cam Schlittler, and Spencer Jones.
Why this Trade is Perfect for the Yankees
A deal with the Twins lines up well. The Yankees can add Joe Ryan, one of the bullpen arms (preferably Duran), as well as Harrison Bader. They would be upgrading their squad more than any other American League contender and would easily be the most talented team in the conference.
At the end of the day, the Yankees need to take a massive swing. If that means unloading the farm to create one of the best pitching staffs in the league, so be it. Acquiring one of the best starters and best closers in the game won’t come cheap.
The Bronx Bombers have been good, but not great, for too long. It’s time to change that.
The Trade that Can Save the Yankees’ Season