The New York Yankees rank dead last in Major League Baseball in starting pitcher ERA since June 15, so it stands to reason that they would be in the market for another arm at the July 30 MLB trade deadline. Just don’t expect them to trade for Garrett Crochet.
The Yankees are “not that into” Crochet, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Heyman published a story on July 18 that breaks down the trade chances of some of MLB’s top pitchers.
“He’s been linked to the Dodgers, Padres, Orioles and Yankees, but one person said the Yankees ‘are not that into’ him,” Heyman wrote of Crochet. “Trade chances: High.”
This comes after USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the Yankees and Chicago White Sox had discussions about Crochet, but Chicago was insisting on Spencer Jones in any package for the starter.
While Jones isn’t posting eye-popping numbers in Double-A, he is the Yankees’ second-ranked prospect behind Jasson Dominguez. Jones’ MLB.com scouting report lauds his power and athleticism.
“Jones offers an intriguing combination of power and uncommon athleticism for a 6-foot-6, 235-pounder,” the report reads. “His bat speed, strength and leverage produce well-above-average raw power and exit velocities, though there are some concerns about how much of his pop will play in games.”
The Yankees Could Still Trade for Another Starting Pitcher
Gerrit Cole is back for the Yankees and the reigning Cy Young winner appears to be finding his stride. He still has a 5.40 ERA over five starts but his most recent outing — six shutout innings against the first-place Orioles with seven strikeouts — looked much more like the guy who has anchored the team’s rotation since 2020.
After Cole, there are question marks. Luis Gil appears to have rebounded from his tough stretch, striking out 16 over his last 12.2 innings and giving up just 2 runs. But how long can the rookie keep it up as his innings mount? Marcus Stroman and Carlos Rodon appear to have lost whatever juice they had in the first two months, though Stroman is coming off a great start at Tampa on July 10. Even Nestor Cortes has had his ups and downs.
The Yankees could use another reliable arm, especially with Clarke Schmidt not close to a return.
If Chicago insists on Jones for Crochet, then they surely would for Erick Fedde as well, so he’s not an option. With Jack Flaherty coming up on free agency, the Yankees could try to pry him from Detroit. At a potentially lower price tag, they can look to Tyler Anderson with the Angels.
Heyman previously suggested the Yankees only trade Jones if it lands them the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal, the current front-runner for the AL Cy Young. The problem is the Tigers see Skubal as an ace they can build around with two more years of team control.
Possible Garrett Crochet Trade Destinations
The other side of this is Crochet and his possible future. As Heyman writes, the Dodgers, Padres, and Orioles all seem like reasonable candidates to land his services.
Bleacher Report just updated its MLB farm system rankings and ranked Baltimore No. 5 in MLB. They also have five prospects ranked in the B/R top 100 prospects list. While the Yankees don’t have that sort of depth, the Orioles can deal someone like catcher Samuel Basallo — a consensus top 50 prospect — without taking too much of a hit (they have a catcher already in Adley Rutschman).
The Dodgers don’t have the same depth, but they may have more urgency. The franchise went all-out in stacking the roster for this season and, though they have a lengthy championship “window,” you only carry a $300 million payroll if you expect to win right now or are the New York Mets.
The Padres’ situation may be more urgent. They’re a game out of a playoff spot and their rotation is filled with a bunch of “pretty good” and not a whole lot of “great,” particularly with Yu Darvish sidelined and Michael King already above his career high in innings pitched.
