Bleeding Yankee Blue: YANKEE RUMORVILLE: ARE THESE PITCHERS ON THE YANK'S LIST?

Monday, June 5, 2017

YANKEE RUMORVILLE: ARE THESE PITCHERS ON THE YANK'S LIST?

(April 25, 2017 - Source: Brandon Wade/Getty Images North America)

Not to get ahead of myself here, but they Yankees have proven that they are better team than many have predicted. The Yankees look like a potential playoff team now rather than the two years some predicted, like Vegas. They may not believe in the Yankees....but we do and if they make the right moves they will too.

I usually don't pay attention to Vegas odds because honestly, their predictions and thought process seem ass backwards sometimes. But this time, I found something to be rather interesting. In May the Yankees had 16/1 World Series odds, read that HERE. Now all of the sudden we have a legitimate MVP candidate and one month later we have a 12/1 odds. It's amazing how much someone like Aaron Judge on a winning team suddenly changes everything.

(May 29, 2017 - Source: Patrick Smith/Getty Images North America)

As I sit back and watch the league now that we are one-third of the way into the season we can all see the Yankees have one area they need to address in order to win it all in October. The Yankees are going to need pitching, plain and simple. Masahiro Tanaka has not been an ace, Luis Severino has rebounded from a disastrous 2016 and Michael Pineda is inconsistent and still cannot be trusted. If the playoffs started tomorrow, the Yankees would be in trouble.

The Yankees have the offense but need some more pitching depth if they want to compete in the post season. As the trade deadline approaches there are some names the Brian Cashman could call on.

1) Jose Quintana - White Sox

Photo: Getty Images

2017 stats: 2-7, 11 starts, 5.60 ERA
Contract Status: Owed $38 million through 2020 (If options for 2019 and 2020 are picked up).
The Yankees have been tied to Quintana since the off season. He was one of the most consistent, underrated pitchers of the last four years. He threw at least 200 innings from 2013-2016 and never had an ERA over 3.51. He's had a rough start but history shows he is a better pitcher than what his current stats are. He's pitching on a fourth place team who isn't helping those stats. The numbers may not be pretty but he will still be a hot commodity on the trade market this season. He would still require a good prospect package to get him but knowing Cashman he is at least going to make the call and see where the conversation leads.

2) Gerrit Cole - Pirates

Photo: Getty Images

2017 stats: 3-5, 12 starts, 4.27 ERA

Contract Status: Free Agent after 2019
The Yankees drafted Cole as a first round pick back in 2008, but he attended UCLA instead of signing. The advantage with Cole would be getting another young, solid pitcher under team control. The Yankees would then be able to save more money to get under the luxury tax which has been a goal for awhile now. The Pirates are also in fourth place in their division and will be looking to sell by the deadline. It would be a good fit for the Yankees.

3) Johnny Cueto - Giants

(May 11, 2017 - Source: Jason O. Watson/Getty Images North America)

2017 stats: 5-5, 12 starts, 4.38 ERA
Contract Status: Owed $21.8 million per year through 2021 with an opt out option after 2017.
The Giants are 12.5 games out in the NL West and are bound to be sellers. Beat writers already recognize that he is an impact player for a contending team....the question is whose? If Cueto can have a good season behind a bad team exercising his opt out option only makes sense and would give the Yankees another ace on a rental. If the Yankees can keep him it's a fair price to pay for another ace in a playoff berth.

4) Cole Hamels - Rangers

Photo: Getty Images

2017 stats: 2-0, 5 starts, 3.03 ERA
Contract Status: Signed through 2018 with a 2019 team option
The Rangers are 15 games out in the AL West. Hamels is currently out with an Oblique strain and unlikely to return by July so he likely wont have enough innings pitched for his 2019 option to vest. That's good news because it would mean that the Yankees or any other team could get him at a deep discount and would be a longer term rental for a good pitcher who has some experience in big game situations. It's more of a low buy, higher risk option but if the price is right it's worth a phone call.

5) Yu Darvish - Rangers

(June 1, 2017 - Source: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images North America)

2017 stats: 5-4, 12 starts, 3.13 ERA
Contract Status: Free Agent after 2017
The Rangers have plenty of trade chips, and Darvish may be the rental that every contending team wants. He would be the rental that could make a difference. Early rumors predict that the Yankees and the Cubs are two favorite destinations for Darvish, read that HERE. The Yankees may be a suitor for him in the off season anyway, so it could be a good test to see if he can handle the New York pressure.

6) Matt Harvey - Mets

Photo: Getty Images

2017 stats: 4-3, 11 starts, 5.43 ERA
Contract Status: Under team control through 2018
This name is out there in the rumor universe. The Mets are open to trading him.....but all I can think is "NO! Please baseball gods, no!" The guy is a mess.

The trade deadline is still a ways off but I love all of the speculation. It's interesting to read all of the rumors and then look back on everything later. Who knows if any of these names and rumors have any merit to them, but it's still all part of the fun of being a baseball fan right? Let the trade rumors roll!