The Yankees are hunting for starting pitchers, with Tatsuya Imai being near the top of their list of players they want to add this upcoming offseason.
Free agency is an avenue the Yankees could go down to improve the rotation, as they did by adding Ryan Yarbrough earlier today, but they could also look at the trade market.
Jon Morosi of MLB Network mentioned that he’d view the Marlins moving one of Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera as more likely to get traded than arms such as Tarik Skubal or Freddy Peralta.
Empire Sports Media learned during the 2025 trade deadline that the Yankees and Marlins held extensive trade conversations about Alcantara, could they revisit this again for 2026?
READ MORE: Will the Yankees remain active in the starting pitching market?
Does a Yankees-Marlins Trade Make Sense This Winter?
Sandy Alcantara is a pitcher who teams have been talking about acquiring this past deadline, and those conversations will likely continue into the offseason.
The 2022 NL Cy Young winner being traded shouldn’t be viewed as a given; Miami won 79 games this past season which was just a few wins shy of qualifying for the 2025 postseason.
A second-half surge could make Peter Bendix, President of Baseball Operations, less enticed to trade his veteran ace in Alcantara, who is the only player on the roster making real money.
Financial relief is not something the Marlins are desperate for, and with a club option for 2027, the Marlins could still trade him at the deadline and get a huge return if the right-hander is back to his All-Star form.
Edward Cabrera, who led Miami in pitching strikeouts (150), is still three years away from free agency and is abitration-eligible for the first time this offseason.
The Yankees showed interest in Edward Cabrera this past deadline, sources told Empire Sports Media, and his 3.53 ERA across 26 starts would certainly fit perfectly into their rotation plans.
With that being said, while Spencer Jones might be able to headline a deal for Alcantara, it would take someone like Ben Rice to get the Marlins interested in dealing away a young, affordable no. 2 starter.
New York’s farm system can’t overwhelm competing offers, making a trade less likely for Edward Cabrera, even though I’m confident they’ll at least check-in this winter.
Brian Cashman wants to add an impact starter which I’d define as a starter who takes the ball in a postseason setting, but who it’ll be and how they acquire them remains to be seen.
The Yankees made an addition to their pitching staff with Ryan Yarbrough, who is a swingman that can serve as both an emergency starter or a long-relief option in the bullpen.
New York also is expected to add Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, a top-five prospect in the organization, to their 40-man roster although I wouldn’t consider him MLB-ready for now.
Carlos Rodon, Gerrit Cole, and Clarke Schmidt are all arms who the Yankees expect to get back in-season, but their effectiveness upon arrival is definitely a question mark.
Even more urgently, the Yankees could find themselves with more injuries before Opening Day even begins, as Spring Training is the time when arm injuries are most frequent.
This creates a need for pitching even with the names they have in the organization, and its why Tatsuya Imai is a player they’ll aggressively pursue this winter according to people with knowledge of their situation.