The Cleveland Indians are looking to sell off Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, and the New York Yankees are definitely intrigued.
It may seem strange to see Corey Kluber, a dude who’s in the running for his third Cy Young at the viable age of 32, on the trading block. But the Cleveland Indians know that now is when they’ll get the highest return, and the New York Yankees’ farm system has an abundance to offer.
As Kluber ages and his contract runs out of team options after 2021, his value will drop significantly.
Carlos Carrasco is in a similar situation. He’s a year younger than Kluber but out of team options after 2020.
According to Fancred’s John Heyman, the Yankees and Indians front offices have had at least one discussion so far.
Yankees have interest in Kluber, Carrasco and Paxton in addition to free agent targets Corbin, Happ and CC. NYY meeting with at least Indians today.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 6, 2018
After coming to terms with CC Sabathia for a one-year contract, New York still has a couple of rotation slots to fill. Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino are the only other sure things for the Bombers’ starting five.
Kluber went 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 2018. It’s the second year in a row He’s put up an ERA below 3.00 and a WHIP below 1.0.
While Kluber is likely the Yankees’ first choice, Carrasco is worth a serious look as well. The right-hander went 17-10 with a 3.38 ERA this season, striking out 231 batters in 192 innings.
Heyman reported Seattle lefty James Paxton as another player the Yankees are looking at. Paxton got a lot of hype from his 2018 no-hitter, and he amassed 208 strikeouts in just 160.1 innings.
Where can the #Yankees find an ace?
Cleveland & Seattle are now options.
Corey Kluber & James Paxton could BOTH reportedly be on the move ? https://t.co/GT9jT0XuP2 pic.twitter.com/jkScbvooRa
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) November 6, 2018
However, if you take a look at Paxton’s 2018 game log, you’ll notice that despite great months in May and July, he was really average at best.
The pressure is on Brian Cashman to field a team that can knock off the Boston Red Sox. Other GMs will try to capitalize on that for sure.
They’ll ask for Miguel Andujar and/or Gleyber Torres to start. Then, they’ll try to plunder the cream of the next crop of Baby Bombers.
Cashman needs to be cautious. Most Yankees fans would prefer a dynasty than a one-year, all in reaction to the Red Sox winning the World Series.
