Let’s be brutally honest: The New York Yankees’ current plan for their 2026 starting rotation feels like it’s being held together by duct tape and prayers. Betting on Gerrit Cole to return from Tommy John surgery in May or June and immediately reclaim his Cy Young form is optimistic bordering on delusional.
Adding to the anxiety, Carlos Rodón is also shelved until at least late April after undergoing surgery to remove a bone chip in his elbow. That leaves Max Fried—fresh off an All-Star campaign in his debut season in pinstripes—as the only sure thing in a rotation that is otherwise leaning terrifyingly hard on rookies and injury-prone veterans to survive the first two months of the season.
If General Manager Brian Cashman is serious about a World Series run, he cannot simply cross his fingers and hope the medical reports are accurate. He needs insurance, and he needs it now. According to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, the Yankees could look to the trade market to acquire a frontline starter, with three specific names emerging as targets: Freddy Peralta, MacKenzie Gore, and Sandy Alcantara. Each brings a different flavor of risk and reward, but only one truly fits the mandate of “win now.”
Freddy Peralta Is the Rent-a-Ace the Yankees Need
If you want a pitcher who can step in and dominate from Day 1, Freddy Peralta is the guy. The Brewers right-hander is heading into the final year of his incredibly team-friendly seven-year, $30 million deal, meaning he hits free agency in 2027. While the cost in prospect capital would be steep for essentially one guaranteed season, the production is undeniable. In 2025, Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA over 176.2 innings, striking out 204 batters.
His underlying metrics are sparkling; he ranked in the 97th percentile for Pitching Run Value and consistently made hitters look foolish with a Breaking Run Value in the 89th percentile. Peralta limits hard contact effectively and misses bats at an elite clip. Acquiring him is the kind of aggressive, “push the chips in” move that bridges the gap until Cole returns and gives the Yankees a lethal 1-2-3 punch for the postseason. An impact trade for pitching will likely cost the Yankees big time in prospect capital, but for a guy like Peralta, it is worth every penny.
MacKenzie Gore Is a Lefty With Too Many Warning Signs
On the surface, MacKenzie Gore is an intriguing option. The 26-year-old lefty is under team control for two more seasons before hitting free agency in 2028, offering a bit more long-term stability than Peralta. He possesses solid strikeout stuff, ranking in the 80th percentile for Strikeout Percentage (27.2%) and Whiff Percentage (29.7%) last season.
However, Gore feels more like a project than a savior. He struggled to a 4.17 ERA in 2025, largely because when batters connected, they crushed him. He ranked in the 20th percentile for Hard-Hit Rate and the 19th percentile for Average Exit Velocity, meaning he is prone to giving up loud contact. Combined with a walk rate in the 28th percentile, Gore is a volatile asset who might create more headaches than he solves in the pressure cooker of the Bronx.
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Sandy Alcantara Is a Fallen Star with Too Much Risk
Then there is Sandy Alcantara, the former Cy Young winner who is trying to rediscover his magic. He is currently on a five-year, $56 million deal that includes a club option for 2027, making him a potentially affordable asset if he bounces back. But his 2025 season—his first full campaign back from Tommy John surgery—was a disaster. He posted a 5.36 ERA over 174.2 innings, and while his velocity remains elite (91st percentile at 97.4 mph), his command and movement have vanished.
Alcantara’s strikeout rate plummeted to the 23rd percentile (19.1%), and he was absolutely shelled, ranking in the 15th percentile for Hard-Hit Rate and the 11th percentile for Average Exit Velocity. Betting on him to fix these issues while pitching in the AL East is a gamble, and the Yankees could be willing to roll the dice for the right price.
Ultimately, while the Yankees may have unearthed a new ace in Cam Schlittler, relying solely on internal options is foolhardy. Peralta is the clear target here; he offers the immediate dominance this rotation desperately needs to survive the early-season storm.