Yankees will add two of these relief pitchers before the All-Star Game

The Yankees have the same problem with their bullpen that I have with my mirror: Every time I turn to it; I get more depressed. There is help coming from the minors, in J.P. Feyereisen and Domingo Acevedo, but the problem goes deeper than that. The trade season is upon us, and the Yankees will need to add one or two top relievers. And here are the players they will choose from.

Yankees pitching is a problem, and the bullpen is the main culprit. The team will need to upgrade. Fortunately, there are some relievers out there who can help this team win the division although there are some restrictions.

First and foremost is that Brian Cashman is not going to trade any of the blue-chippers, and he shouldn’t, for the type of reliever the Yanks need. But there are still plenty of promising players that would improve most minor league systems.

And the Yankees do have a secret: Jorge Mateo. He is no longer a top prospect—feel free to click this link if you still need proof of that—but his reputation precedes his play.

Every time I read about the Yankees prospects, he is mentioned as one of their best. If the rest of baseball values him as a top prospect, the Yankees could put together a package around Mateo that could bring back an incredible player.

It is hard to believe that the other owners can not read the same stat sheets I can, but potential is a powerful seductress.

And another problem is that so many teams still have post-season dreams. Kansas City, for instance, has made a recent push that has them at .500; in today’s wild card world, that might be enough to stop them from being sellers.

It also makes finding a trade partner a lot more difficult. I was prepared to talk about Blake Parker and Bud Norris, for instance, but the Angels are 42-40, probably enough to keep them in it.

The Criteria

So, I looked at teams who are (almost) definitely out of it, and mostly at their high-priced free agents. And of course the Yankees need help in the key seventh and eighth innings, so these players are all having good to great years; the Yanks have plenty of arms for mop-up duty. Finally, I mostly focused on pitchers who will be free agents this year or next.

I included a couple of players in long-term, team friendly contracts, but only due to exceptional circumstances. And I found some teams had more than one possible player who can help the Yankees, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are one of them.

We’ll start with them.