The New York Yankees rotation has been one of the best in Major League Baseball. Unfortunately, with the injuries they’ve faced, it’s uncertain if the team has the chance to continue throwing the baseball the way it has.
It’ll be interesting to see how things play out over the next few months, but after Brian Cashman’s comments, it doesn’t sound too great. Cashman said it isn’t easy to make a trade right now, perhaps a sign that nothing will come for the Yankees, who sit in first place in the loaded American League East with a 30-19 record.
“We’ll see,” Cashman told The New York Post’s Dan Martin this week. “It’s hard to make improvements this part of the season. We’ve got what we’ve got. We’ll assess it and move forward with opportunities as they start to present themselves at whatever positions they do.”
Will Yankees Make Any Move at Trade Deadline?
If the New York Yankees look to make a trade at the deadline, they must come at third base or on the mound. While having starting pitching is always the priority, the Yankees need to find another infielder, and there isn’t any question about that.
However, one could still argue that finding pitching is the most important thing. If the Yankees want to be the team they’re looking to be, even if they get healthy outside of Gerrit Cole, having multiple arms to eat up innings toward October would be the wise decision.
The last thing the Yankees want is to enter the postseason with multiple starters either tired or hurt.
Searching for potential trade chips, Bleacher Report named the Yankees’ top asset as Cam Schlittler, a right-handed prospect who has thrown the baseball at a decent level throughout his professional career.
Kerry Miller proposed a trade idea that would land Paul Blackburn of the New York Mets, a starter who has thrown to a 4.85 ERA throughout his career, which started in 2017 when he debuted for the Athletics.
“Though he’s not close to top 100, Cam Schlittler has become an intriguing trade chip. Since the beginning of last season, he has racked up 198 strikeouts in 158.1 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.24. We’ll see if he can get it to translate to Triple-A and eventually the majors, but he has been mowing down the Eastern League competition so far this season.
“Perhaps a spot for a rare New York-New York trade, as Paul Blackburn wouldn’t be a bad option for a No. 5 starter in the Bronx? They’ve only made one actual trade in the past two decades, though,” Miller wrote.
Could Yankees Target Paul Blackburn?
Blackburn has been dealing with injuries throughout the early stages of the campaign and has yet to appear in a game. However, he made his final rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday, allowing zero earned runs in 7.0 innings, striking out six. He threw 87 pitches, with 54 of them being strikes.
While he’d be an intriguing option for the New York Yankees, it’s also important to remember that the New York Mets could be interested in keeping him around.
They’ve dealt with many injuries on the bump, too, and want to have a chance to win a World Series. Pitching helps that, and Steve Cohen and David Stearns understand that.
Yankees Trade Proposal Lands Mets Veteran All-Star Ace