Bryan Hoch of MLB.com is reporting that the New York Yankees are engaged in trade talks with both the Brewers and Nationals, focusing on Freddy Peralta and MacKenzie Gore respectively.
After missing out on Edward Cabrera who the team had interest in acquiring, they’re continuing to survey the pitching market as they’re hoping to make an improvement to their rotation.
Gore, who is just 26 years old, has two years of control and is coming off another season where he had a strong first half but stumbled in the summer.
Peralta has one year remaining of cheap control ($8 million) and pitched to a 2.70 ERA this past season, helping the Brewers win 97 games and get to the NLCS.
READ MORE: Yankees have discussed a trade for MacKenzie Gore, but does he make sense for the rotation?
Yankees Could Pull Down an Ace With a Freddy Peralta Trade
It’s easy to see the appeal with Freddy Peralta, whom the Yankees have been linked to by The Athletic and Jack Curry as well, but that means there will be a crazy market for his services.
Peralta has struck out at least 200 batters and has made at least 30 starts in each of his last three seasons, being good for around 170 innings and a 20% K-BB%, a true no. 1-2 starter for a contender’s rotation.
Teams including the Mets, Dodgers, Braves, and Orioles are involved in his services according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, which could drive the price up to a point where the Yankees are unable to match offers.
Elmer Rodriguez or Will Warren could be of interest in this deal as The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner also mentioned that Milwaukee would be looking for a major-league-ready starter in a package.
Whether the Yankees pull down this trade or not remains to be seen, but if they can get someone of Peralta’s ilk they could have a dynamic rotation in October.
Do the Yankees Make an Upside Play For MacKenzie Gore?
The Washington Nationals are tearing it all down after the disastrous rebuild of the Mike Rizzo regime, which failed in both scouting and player development after their World Series victory in 2019.
Paul Taboni is running the show now, and Gore is someone he’s listening to offers on, although like with Freddy Peralta these prices are expected to be sky-high.
Gore has not been a frontline starter the way Peralta has, but his 4.17 ERA was still around league-average and he also has a 3.74 FIP with it to show that he was more of an above-average starter.
With five pitches he used at least 5% of the time and some low-hanging fruit to fix as he’s a talented 26-year-old starter that possesses plus stuff on a bad organization.
If the Yankees could unlock the upside shown in those underlying metrics, MacKenzie Gore could be a no. 2-3 starter for a playoff team and he could also move into a bullpen role well depending on how their veterans return from injury.