As we near the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, the New York Yankees can pursue a starter to help round out a top-heavy rotation. ESNY maps out the most realistic options.
Forget the far-fetched fantasies of Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Madison Bumgarner. It’s time to examine practical options the New York Yankees can seek as they look to upgrade the starting rotation.
Realistically, there isn’t an ace out on the market that can take the rotation to new heights. Thankfully, they don’t need that.
All-Star Luis Severino has grown into the ace every Yankees fan hoped he’d become while CC Sabathia is proceeding with an excellent tail-end to a potential Hall-of-Fame career. Masahiro Tanaka is off the disabled list and Sonny Gray, while downright frustrating in 2018, has shown flashes of improvement.
What the Yankees can and should pursue is a number 4-5 starter that can help fill the void left by the injured Jordan Montgomery as the team heads into an all-out war with the Boston Red Sox for the American League East crown.
One that won’t come at the price of any of the franchise’s top-10 prospects and one that won’t come with years of commitment is likely high up on general manager Brian Cashman’s list. With that in mind, here are some names that should be considered as we approach the trade deadline.
Cole Hamels
One of the more realistic options is a playoff-tested veteran who has seen it all. Sixteen career playoffs starts including a World Series MVP to his name isn’t something to discount. Even if it was 10 years ago, contenders value guys who have “been there, done that.”
The 34-year-old southpaw is 5-8 this season with a 4.36 ERA including 109 strikeouts in 109.1 innings pitched. Hamels’ last nine starts, in which he has surrendered 31 runs in 50.2 innings (5.51 ERA), may suggest that his early-season hot streak was not sustainable, but his home/road splits suggest that a change of scenery could do wonders.
In nine starts at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Hamels is 1-6 with a 5.83 ERA and 14 home runs surrendered in 54 innings. On the road, he is 4-2 with a 2.93 ERA with seven homers surrendered in 55.1 innings. That could be due to the ballpark being the third-easiest ballpark to score runs in baseball this season per ESPN’s park factors.
Hamels is also tied with Bartolo Colon with the 17th-best ground ball rate (44.3 percent) and won’t be coming to New York to carry the rotation. He’ll simply pose as a help to a struggling back-end for a contender with no commitment beyond 2018.
Matt Harvey
In 2015, one of the hottest tickets in New York sports was “Harvey Day.” Once every five days, Citi Field would fill up with fans donning Batman masks to watch the Dark Knight take the hill and mow down his opponents. From 2013-15, only Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Jake Arrieta posted a better ERA+ than Matt Harvey’s (148) as he turned into an electric talent with nowhere to go but up.
His legacy in Gotham, however, turned into an unfortunate story of a potential perennial Cy Young candidate turned distraction that could never put it together after going through thoracic outlet syndrome in 2016.
Why would Brian Cashman go after a starter that seemed to be distracted by the bright lights of New York? A starter that would bring a media frenzy? Well, don’t think of it as likely. But it’s certainly realistic.
First of all, the Yankees have not been the type to shy away from potential clubhouse drama — see acquiring Aroldis Chapman amidst his domestic abuse allegations, CC Sabathia’s rehabilitation from alcoholism prior to the 2015 postseason, Alex Rodriguez’s biogenesis circus, and countless other practices that make the franchise live up to the “Bronx Zoo” nickname.
Trading for a pitcher who would accumulate media attention wouldn’t be anything out of this world for the Yankees, especially if he can serve as a back-of-the-rotation upgrade.
After surrendering 21 runs in 27 innings over eight appearances (four starts) for the Yankees’ crosstown rival, Harvey was flipped to the Cincinnati Reds for Devin Mesoraco and cash. That move seemed to have rejuvenated the former star, as he currently owns a 3.64 ERA over 12 starts for his new squad.
Over his last five starts, the 29-year-old righty has held batters to a .236/.294/.273 slash line while posting a 1.86 ERA. His overall strikeout rate (6.9) with the Reds is nothing to brag about, but his strikeout-to-walk rate of 3.27 is his best since 2015 and his average fastball velocity jumped from 93.26 MPH with the Mets to 94.93 MPH with the Reds.
Harvey is set to hit free agency this offseason and as he attempts to build his value back up for a decent payday, he’ll come with an extra pep in his step and won’t come at the price of an arm and a leg.
For Mets’ fans, this is something that not even a Freddy Krueger nightmare could top. But for the team trying to better the back-end of the rotation for a pennant race, Matt Harvey could be an option.
J.A. Happ
It has already been reported that J.A. Happ is near the top of the Yankees’ wish list, but his stock may have dropped after ending his commendable first half on a bad note.
In the 35-year-old’s five starts prior to the All-Star break, he allowed seven home runs and posted a 6.84 ERA in 26.1 innings. The last outing Happ pieced together a quality start was back on June 8 against a Baltimore Orioles offense that sits dead last in the American League in the batting average category (.227).
While he has hurt his status as a playoff starter or impact arm during a pennant race, he is battle-tested in the American League East and is still a realistic option the Yankees can acquire.
Remember, this is a team that ran Jaime García out for eight starts last season due to the experience factor. Happ, who’s set to hit the open market following this season, does have 10 career postseason appearances, seven of them coming out of the bullpen.
Lacking a trustworthy left-hander out of the bullpen not named Aroldis Chapman, rookie manager Aaron Boone would love to have a left-handed reliever to provide depth and go after left-handed batters in the AL’s pennant race such as Boston’s Brock Holt, Mitch Moreland, and Jackie Bradley Jr., Houston’s Josh Reddick and Brian McCann, and Cleveland’s Michael Brantley.
Jordan Zimmermann
The Detroit Tigers enter the All-Star break 12.5 games out of first place in the AL Central and 17.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. It’s safe to say they’ll be looking to sell assets that contenders would find valuable as they continue to plunge.
Enter Jordan Zimmermann.
In 12 starts this season, the 32-year-old is 4-1 with a 3.79 ERA. His ERA+ of 119 ranks 16th among the 61 starters in the AL with at least 12 starts this season while his FIP (3.38) ranks 11th — ahead of All-Stars starters Blake Snell, Corey Kluber, J.A. Happ, and Jose Berrios.
This success comes due to the second-highest strikeout rate of his career (8.7) and his best strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.55) since 2014 — a year in which he finished fifth in the National League Cy Young award voting.
There are two aspects of Zimmermann that could hold Cashman back, however. He recently received a nerve-blocking injection after giving up 11 hits in a 4-2 loss to the Rays on July 11. He isn’t expected to miss a start thanks to the rest the All-Star break gives him, but it’s an injury concern to watch closely as the deadline approaches.
Secondly, he is owed $50 million for the next two seasons and will be a free agent in 2021. Although it’s likely that the Tigers will eat a portion of the $25 million owed in 2019 and 2020, the Yankees might not want to make a long-term commitment to a starter who owns a 5.24 ERA since moving to the AL.
Tyson Ross
The Yankees have already checked in on Tyson Ross and this comes as no surprise. The Padres are rotting in the basement of the NL West and the 31-year-old is set to become a free agent at season’s end, making him a candidate to be traded by month’s end.
Ross owns a 5-8 record with a 4.32 ERA in 19 starts this season, but entered the month of July with a 3.32 ERA and held opponents to a .222/.301/.364 slash line. Still, his overall numbers don’t pop off the page, especially for someone pitching in Petco Park.
What makes Ross an attractive option is that, in addition to checking in on Ross, the Yankees have inquired about left-handed reliever Brad Hand and right-handed reliever Kirby Yates.
Chasen Shreve (2-2, 4.54 ERA) has been the only lefty in the bullpen not named Aroldis Chapman. Adding Brad Hand (3.05 ERA in 44.1 innings pitched) will bring a welcome arm to the ‘pen and adding Yates (1.47 ERA in 36.2 innings) can’t possibly hurt.
In fact, this could push Boone to take a page out of Rays’ manager Kevin Cash’s book and replace their fifth starter with a bullpen day if they don’t think Ross is an answer. Either way, a match with the Padres certainly exists and it could see Ross come to the Bronx if talks advance.