The New York Yankees are on a four-game winning streak this week, but they’re still hurting for starting pitchers.
After losing ace Gerrit Cole for the season during spring training, the Yankees have had a slough of other injuries to contend with, necessitating the use of pitchers like Carlos Carrasco and Ryan Yarbrough who New York never could have anticipated would play a role.
It’s still early in the season, to be sure, but the Yankees have to be considering possible solutions at the trade deadline to ensure their rotation can measure up to the rest of the American League.
On Friday, Newsweek’s Andrew Wright named the Yankees among the top potential trade fits for Minnesota Twins ace Pablo López, a 2023 All-Star and one of the most reliable arms in the league over the last four years.
“New York has two power left-handed arms in Max Fried and Carlos Rodón, and López could be the buffer between the two,” Wright wrote. “While the Yankees still have Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil, it’s hard to trust the two to be available due to their injury history.”
“López has made 32 starts in each of the last three seasons and would give manager Aaron Boone a reliable arm for not only the regular season but the postseason as well.”
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While it appears López’s 32-start streak will come to an end thanks to his IL stint, the 29-year-old was off to a terrific start to the year through three outings, posting 16 2/3 innings with only three earned runs (1.62 ERA, 1.02 WHIP).
López’s $73.5 million contract extension pays him $21.75 million in each of the next three seasons before he’s scheduled to hit free agency. While that would be a sizable increase to the Yankees’ $300 million payroll, it’s a very affordable, controllable contract for a pitcher of his stature.
Assuming López is available, though, will the Yankees have the prospect capital to measure up to other contenders looking for starting pitching by the trade deadline? They’re not shy about dealing their prospects, but the crop is fairly thin right now.
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