Yankees: Which of their top prospects are untouchable in trade talks?

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While the Yankees continue to roll, winning 17 of their last 18, there are still many who believe that as the season progresses management will have to make a trade for another front-line starter to add to their rotation. To get a deal done that will cost them top prospects from their highly touted farm system.

Nobody knows how the Yankees rotation will stack up come late July but right now they are among the best in the game. Even with their talented left-hander Jordan Montgomery on the DL for the next six to eight weeks the starting staff has helped carry the Yanks into first place past the rival Red Sox.

In their last 17 games, Yankee starters have pitched to an incredible .195 ERA with opponents batting .169 against them per James Smyth of the YES Network. 17 games isn’t the biggest sample size but it sure seems like the starting rotation is set for the time being. Especially after Domingo German threw six no-hit innings in his first career start in place of Montgomery.

However, injuries and inconsistent production will happen to the majority of big league rotations over the course of a season so it makes sense that the Yankees could be in the market for another ace type starter. They have all the assets they need to get to make a blockbuster trade, but Brian Cashman and company will be smart in deciding who they’d be willing to give up.

At the moment nobody knows which of the top starting pitchers will be on the trading block a month or two from now. However, I do know that come deadline time there will be prospects in the Yankee system who will be deemed “untouchable” in trade talks.

HOUSTON, TX – MAY 02: Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees throws out Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros in the first inning at Minute Maid Park on May 2, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Now I know no prospect is truly untouchable especially after we saw the Red Sox traded Yoan Moncada for Chris Sale before the 2017 season, but the circumstances then were different. It was the offseason and Sale was available for any team to acquire if they could meet the White Sox price. The Red Sox did so by trading the top prospect in baseball along with Michael Kopech (now the 10th best prospect) and two other minor leaguers.

The deal for Sale has obviously worked out for Boston, but it also left the Red Sox with a depleted farm system. They got the ace they desired but in most cases, a team will not trade the top prospect in baseball unless it’s for a true game changer.

At the time it was too good of a deal to pass up. However, this season I don’t see someone with Sale’s pedigree being available so it’s unlikely the Yankees will give away more than one of their top prospects in a trade.

Before I continue let me state the obvious and say that the recently called up Gleyber Torres isn’t going anywhere. Torres has burst onto the scene and made a huge impact since his call-up. Soon he will no longer even be considered a prospect and figures to be the Yankees starting second basemen for the next decade-plus. I can pretty much guarantee that come deadline time he will be untouchable.

The same could even be said for Miguel Andujar who much like Torres has been outstanding for the Yankees since his call-up. He’s taken control of the starting job at third base and even with the return of Brandon Drury looming Andujar figures to be the starting third basemen of the present and future. I wouldn’t call him completely untouchable like Torres but for the rest of this season, I don’t think there’s much of a chance he gets traded.

In the offseason, he could be an option when the trade market for top starters heats up. Especially if the Yanks still have any interest in possibly signing Manny Machado to play third base. Personally, I think Andujar has a chance to become a star much like Torres so I hope that’s not the case.

TAMPA, FL – FEBRUARY 21: Justus Sheffield #86 of the New York Yankees poses for a portrait during the New York Yankees photo day on February 21, 2018 at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Estevan Florial

First on the untouchable list of players still in the minor leagues would be outfielder Estevan Florial, the Yankees second-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline. Florial is only in advanced A-Ball in Tampa, but if you watched him during this year’s spring training you could see why the Yankees are so high on him. Over the past year, nobody has risen up the Yankees prospects rankings more than Florial.

The 20-year-old is still a year or two away from being called-up but he is a legitimate five-tool guy who projects to be able to stick as a center fielder in the big leagues. That’s something the Yankees don’t have much of at all throughout their system. With Aaron Hicks set to become a free agent in 2020 he likely will not be brought back. That leaves an opening for Florial to take over right around the time he should be ready to make the final leap up.

Justus Sheffield

Next up is the Yanks third-ranked prospect, left-hander Justus Sheffield. He was recently promoted to Triple-A Scranton and looks like someone who could make his big league debut at some point this summer. Sheffield was acquired in the Andrew Miller trade back in 2016 so you know he’s somebody the Yankees front office thinks very highly of.

Sheffield was reported to be one of the untouchables when the Yanks were in talks to acquire Gerrit Cole this past winter so I don’t expect that to change this summer. Trading him this season wouldn’t make much sense at all because of how close he is to making his big league debut. He’ll still have to conquer Triple-A before he gets the call but come August or September he could be given an opportunity to start in some games. In the case of an injury to the current rotation, he could be called up even sooner.

The Yankees could look at him as someone who could make the same kind of impact Luis Severino did back in 2015 when he was first called up during that season’s playoff push. Sheffield doesn’t have the ceiling of a Severino but he has the stuff to be a solid two or three down the road in the Yankees rotation.

Calling him up this year would essentially be like making a trade for a starter just without having to give up any assets. If Sheffield proves he’s the real deal the Yankees would probably be better off going in that direction.

Chance Adams

Adams was once considered the Yankees top pitching prospect after an excellent 2017, but after a poor spring training and a slow start to his season at Triple-A his stock has taken a bit of a hit. Despite his struggles, he’s still the Yankees sixth-best prospect and the 74th overall in baseball and has a chance (no pun intended) to make his big league debut this season.

Before the season started Adams was mentioned as one of the first options to be called up in the case of an injury to the rotation. He’s close to completing his development at Triple-A but he needs to improve his fastball control and feel for his secondary pitches. It remains to be seen if he has the makeup to be big league starter or if he’d be better off as two pitch guy out of the bullpen much like Chad Green.

Regardless, he is a guy the Yankees would likely include in the right deal to upgrade their rotation. Adams is still only 23 and could be a guy who could slide right into the rotation of the team trading a front-line starter back to the Yanks. He could still figure into the Yankees rotation by 2019, but I get the feeling that management is higher on younger arms like Justus Sheffield, Albert Abreu, and Frecier Perez.

Domingo Acevedo

Acevedo is a 24-year-old right-hander with a power arm who could also arrive in the big leagues soon. The timetable for him is probably 2019 because he’s still at Double-A Trenton, but it’s only a matter of time before he takes that next step up to Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Right now he ranks behind Adams as the 9th best prospect in the system according to MLB Pipeline, but his upside is probably higher.

Acevedo can get his fastball up over 100 mph and at 6’7 he is an imposing presence on the mound. His control is better than you would think for someone that tall, however, it’s a question whether he has the full repertoire of pitches to be a big league starter. The Yankees have so much pitching depth that really any pitcher outside of Justus Sheffield could be had for the right return, but Acevedo’s build and power arm might make him one of the most intriguing.

Tyler Wade

Wade had his opportunity out of spring training to be the starting second baseman but he struggled mightily and was sent down and replaced by Gleyber Torres. The Yankees had high hopes for Wade out of camp and they still do because of his versatility to play all over the field.

Yankees: Which top prospects are untouchable in trade talks?

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