The Yankees could need rotation help if Clarke Schmidt’s forearm issue is serious, as tightness in that region can signal something as serious as Tommy John Surgery.
If the Yankees want to make sure that they have a strong pitching staff when they get to the postseason, they’ll need to add a starter this deadline if that aforementioned injury is as bad as possible.
Even if it isn’t, the ability to move a starter to the bullpen (or at the deadline for a bat) would be a massive advantage for the ballclub.
With the Pirates likely selling at this year’s trade deadline, here’s a mock trade that would help the Yankees bolster their rotation and infield in one swift move.
Mitch Keller and Isiah Kiner-Falefa Head to the Yankees in This Mock Trade
A durable middle-of-the-rotation starter, Mitch Keller has become an elite damage suppressor as the swing-and-miss stuff has started to decline.
He’s sporting a 3.64 ERA with a 3.94 xERA and 3.24 FIP, as while he’s in the 27th Percentile in K%, he is in the 83rd Percentile in BB% and has only given up seven home runs on the season.
With a four-seam fastball, sweeper, slider, sinker, curveball, and changeup all in his repertoire, Keller sports a deep pitch mix and has stellar command to go with it.
The ability to manipulate various pitch shapes makes him a pitcher who already is very valuable for the middle of a contender’s rotation, but it also presents some upside for Matt Blake to unlock.
New York is getting a pitcher with a strong floor who can take the ball in a playoff environment, as Keller has been worth at least 2 WAR on FanGraphs in each of his last four seasons.
As for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, he would serve a very vital role to this Yankees’ team as a utilityman that the team could acquire early in the deadline to get Jazz Chisholm back to 3B.
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An elite defensive third baseman, Isiah-Kiner Falefa has been worth +24 Defensive Runs Saved and +27 Outs Above Average in just over 1,500 innings at the hot corner.
He is on part with some of the best third basemen in the game defensively, and with an 85 wRC+ and solid wheels, he’ll hold things down at the hot corner in case a better option doesn’t present itself in July.
You need to protect yourself in case the Twins (Willi Castro) or Diamondbacks (Eugenio Suarez) end up staying put, and IKF allows you to move Jazz Chisholm back to 2B.
Suddenly your weak infield defense is elite again, aiding your pitching staff which sports multiple groundball pitchers that have been victimized by bad infield defense (looking at you Mark Leiter Jr.).
In return the Yankees would send a package surrounding RHP Bryce Cunningham and RHP Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, with C Rafael Flores as a throw-in.
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