New York Yankees reportedly targeting four specific starting pitchers via the trade market as the July 31 deadline approaches.
The New York Yankees will be making moves over the course of the next month as the July 31 trade deadline is coming closer. Ultimately, the Bombers want to land a starting pitcher to help a rotation manned by Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia. They could have a few players in mind to move, such as recently-optioned outfielder Clint Frazier.
As far as the pitchers they want to land, New York has an idea of who they desire. There are four specific names they’re looking towards, as reported by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman on the “Big Time Baseball” podcast hosted by Josh Lewin.
The four names are the Blue Jays’ Marcus Stroman, the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner, the Nationals’ Max Scherzer, and the Tigers’ Matthew Boyd.
All four would most likely garner big asking prices, and Stroman and Bumgarner would only be rentals. Stroman and Bumgarner are both soon-to-be free agents. Boyd, on the other hand, will receive his second-year arbitration salary in 2020.
Neither Stroman, Bumgarner nor Boyd have winning records thus far in 2019. Stroman is 5-9 with a 3.04 ERA, Bumgarner is 4-7 with a 4.21 ERA, and Boyd is 5-5 with a 3.61 ERA.
The only option in this list that isn’t a soon-to-be free agent is Scherzer. The Nationals’ ace’s contract is through the 2021 season, and his yearly cash payout will be $15 million each season for 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman recently stated he would do “whatever it takes” to land Scherzer in a trade. However, the Nats may not want to deal Scherzer at all, so it would definitely be a huge asking price to acquire him.
