Yankees Offseason Trade Target: Starting Pitcher Chad Bettis

One under-the-radar starting pitcher the New York Yankees could look to acquire this winter is Colorado Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis.

Given the state of the New York Yankees starting pitching at the moment, the only pitcher who should be guaranteed a rotation spot for 2017 should be American League Cy Young favorite (If I write it enough it will happen) Masahiro Tanaka.

The front office should be exploring all potential alternatives for upgrades. Shopping CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda? Why not! Minor league arms Jordan Montgomery, Chance Adams, and Dietrich Enns? Give them a long spring training tryout. GM Brian Cashman needs to leave no stone un-turned.

One unlikely stone to turn over is the usually woeful Colorado Rockies pitching staff. Surprisingly, however, the Rox have a nice stockpile of young, promising major league starters at the moment. Given the sorry state of most of their roster, they may be inclined to listen on one or two of them this winter.

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Jon Gray, Tyler Chatwood, and Tyler Anderson would all be solid fits for the Yankees needs, but the guy who stands out as a potential trade chip for Colorado is 27-year-old right-hander Chad Bettis.

In 29 starts for Colorado this year Bettis has a 4.78 ERA and 4.19 FIP over 169.1 frames. His 103 ERA+ indicates that he’s been just a hair above an average starting pitcher this year once the Coors Field effect is taken into account. Last season Bettis was even better, pitching to a 4.23 ERA and 3.85 FIP in 115 IP, with an ERA+ of 110.

The former second round pick does have some prospect pedigree. He cracked Baseball America’s Top 100 list at #86 before the 2012 season and was ranked 66th by MLB.com the same year. He mixes five different pitches well. According to Brooks Baseball: “he has relied primarily on his Fourseam Fastball (93mph) and Slider (87mph), also mixing in a Change (87mph), Curve (75mph) and Sinker (92mph).” 

He has been healthy this year, but has had both elbow and shoulder injuries in the past. He missed the entire 2012 season with a strained muscle in his shoulder, opting to rehab the issue rather than undergo surgery. In 2015, he missed about a month with elbow inflammation, which should at least make New York pause before acquiring him. They need to take a long look at his UCL before any trade, but I guess that is true of any pitcher.

Because he’s slightly older than his rotation mates, he might be the arm that Colorado might consider giving up in a trade this winter given the fact that they are presumably rebuilding. The Yankees have a ton of prospect depth to throw at the Rockies if they are so inclined.

Jorge Mateo may have fallen out of favor following his suspension and may be expendable following the acquisition of Gleyber Torres. It may seem like a lot, but a one-for-one swap may make sense for both sides. Dependable mid-rotation starters are extremely valuable. Maybe throw in a guy they don’t have room for like Jake Cave or Kyle Higashioka if a second piece is needed?

Chad Bettis may not seem like the most exciting trade target by his numbers along, but consider that he comes with four years of team control and wouldn’t even be arbitration eligible until after next year.

Next: Evaluating 2017 Rotation Options

The Yankees would be acquiring all of his prime, potentially for a prospect or two that looks to be blocked for the foreseeable future anyway. Like the Nathan Eovaldi or Didi Gregorius trades, this would be both a short and long-term move.