The asking price to trade for Zack Wheeler, Marcus Stroman before the deadline will reportedly be high for the New York Yankees.
The MLB trade deadline will land on July 31. Up until then, the New York Yankees will do what they can to add assistance to their rotation en route to a World Series title.
Two of the pitchers they’re checking in on are New York Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler and Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman. However, they won’t be cheap. According to Andy Martino of SNY, the asking price of either of those two pitchers will be high.
“According to multiple general managers in search of pitching, the asking prices for Wheeler, Stroman and the like remain very high, and teams are far apart on value,” Martino wrote.
“That’s why, according to sources, the Red Sox and A’s settled for less exciting acquisitions in Andrew Cashner and Homer Bailey. Those teams essentially looked at the asks for higher-end help and said, ‘forget it, we’ll go with depth.'”
This week, the Red Sox backed out of the race for Wheeler. They were initially competing with the Yankees for the veteran starting pitcher.
The Yankees have numerous trade chips they could use before the deadline, such as Clint Frazier and Deivi Garcia. However, general manager Brian Cashman probably won’t want to deal any of them for Wheeler, due to the fact that he’ll most likely become a rental. Wheeler becomes a free agent at the end of the season.
Wheeler’s value at the current moment has also gone down, as he landed on the injured list on Monday with shoulder fatigue. He isn’t eligible to pitch until June 23 at the earliest.
One pitcher Cashman could use one of those mentioned trade chips for is Mets righty Noah Syndergaard. The veteran starting pitcher is currently under arbitration through the 2021 season.