As the calendar turns toward summer, the New York Yankees are in a familiar spot.
Not only are the Yankees in first place in the American League East, but they’ve built the largest lead of any team in any division in the sport. That makes them surefire buyers at the July trade deadline, as if there was ever a doubt.
The Yankees do have an obvious need, though–starting pitching. Ever since ace Gerrit Cole went down for the season during spring training, they’ve been one arm short of a typical contender’s rotation.
Not all of the trade deadline sellers have become clear yet, but the Pittsburgh Pirates are slated to be one of them. And while they’re probably not trading Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh might have another starter to interest the Yankees.
On Wednesday, Ryan Garcia of Empire Sports Media named Mitch Keller, a 2023 All-Star who is on an extension that pays him just over $71 million over the next four seasons, as a possible Yankees trade target.
“With how good the Yankees are at player development and with Keller being under contract for three seasons after this one, it could give the team some flexibility with moving a starter for a bat at the deadline,” Garcia wrote.
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“He has the upside to be a frontline starter and is currently pitching like a number-three starter, with a contract that isn’t bad but will certainly limit the return the Pirates can get on him since teams traditionally don’t like adding payroll.”
Don’t let the 1-7 record fool you–Keller is a valuable pitcher. He’s got a very respectable 3.73 ERA this season and he’s thrown just over 600 innings since the start of 2022. For a Yankees team that’s seen a lot of short starts this year, those innings are invaluable.
The Pirates would probably say yes to a chance to get out from the entirety of Keller’s contract, even though he can still help a contending team win now. That might open the door for the Yankees to get an arm that would rarely be available for a reasonable price.
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