Yankees: Which starting pitcher could they acquire before the trade deadline?

The Yankees are currently tied for first place in the American League East with rival Boston Red Sox and hold baseball’s best record at 46-20. With the trade deadline creeping closer and closer, the team should not sit pretty and continue to lean on the added support of young but sporadic player performances.

That being said, the Yanks should not rush into any rash and gratuitous roster moves. With an overloaded roster of all sorts of players, from veterans to young prospects to middle-aged potential starters, the Yankees have unlimited options.

And what better a time to look for that added boost come the second half of the season than now, after two of their five opening day rotational starting pitchers landed on the DL. Jordan Montgomery is recovering from Tommy John surgery and Masahiro Tanaka has mild strains in both hamstrings.

With an overpowering lineup of hitters who are either playing the best baseball of their lives this season or have the potential to turn it around at the snap of their fingers, it seems as though the Yankees have their objective decided for them. Add a top-notch starter to their already superb roster.

Because of the standing success of the team, the Yankees should consider trading several of their players including Tyler Austin, Greg Bird, Brandon Drury, Tommy Kahnle and Neil Walker. Each of these guys is finding themselves displaced on the current Bomber roster but could be valuable to one of the other 29 MLB teams.

Furthermore, due to the frugal offseason, the Yankees have over $20 million until they reach the luxury tax threshold. This stockpile of spending money is something the Yankees and their fans are not used to having and could be utilized in the near future.

Without further adieu, let’s dive into who the Yanks could target this trade deadline.

Cole Hamels

I want to begin with the biggest name on my shortlist of starters the Yankees should chase this season. Hamels is currently in his 13th big league season but is pitching only slightly worse than his younger self. With a 3.69 ERA in 14 games this season supported by a .229 batting average against while leaving over 80 percent of his runners on base, the 34-year-old is not showing his age.

The only troubles Hamels has faced this season is his elevated home run rate; 1.90 home runs per nine innings, the highest of his career. Hamels has surrendered more line drives and fly balls this season compared to previous seasons which could be to blame for the 18 home runs given up thus far.

But the most extreme discrepancy of this season to others for Hamels is the quality of contact by batters faced. Near 50 percent of his batted balls against are considered to be hit “hard”; as opposed to his career rate of 29 percent.

Nevertheless, Hamels’ evolving game has shown its prosperity. His pitch usage has vastly adapted to his aging body. His original three-pitch repertoire from 2007, which consisted of a four-seam fastball, a curveball, and a changeup has developed into five pitches this year (four-seam fastball, sinker, cutter, curveball, slider, and changeup).

To further show Hamels’ ability to progress, each of his pitch usage rates has drastically changed, including his fastball which has dropped in usage by almost 30 percent since 2007.

Hamels is currently the ace of the Texas Rangers staff but with one year left on his hefty contract in which he will be paid $22.5 million this season ($2.5 million by the Phillies) and another $20 million next year, a deal for Hamels would eat up much of that luxury tax stockpile.

Being that the Rangers are 19 games behind first place in their division, they might be looking to unload a large salary such as Hamels, who has little future upside left.

J.A. Happ

A cheaper version of the Cole Hamels trade possibility might be J.A. Happ, another veteran lefty who has actually found more success in the latter half of his career than the former.

Although not necessarily “cheap”, Happ is to be paid $13 million this season, but this is the last year of his current contract, making him ideal for a playoff push by the Yankees.

Pitching well thus far, Happ’s ERA stands at 3.48 for the 2018 season with the highest strikeout rate of his career, 28.1 percent. His batting average against is also of high regard, .205, 15th lowest in baseball (among qualified starters). His WHIP, coincidentally, is also 15th lowest in baseball at 1.06, showing his undervalued abilities.

Outpitching most starters this year, including Hamels, to go along with a somewhat attractive contract state, Happ seems to be exactly what the Yanks are searching for this trade deadline.

Being an under the radar arm nearing the tail end of his career, the Toronto Blue Jays might be willing to give up Happ for little in exchange. Not to mention that the Blue Jays sit 16 games out of first place in the MLB’s best division, giving up a high salary player in hopes of adding some potential looks to be the Yankees best bet to land a top-notch starter.

Similar to Hamels in experience and role, both Happ and Hamels are the aces of their staffs while in their mid-30s. Both these two also first appeared in the Majors while members of the Philadelphia Phillies in addition to winning the World Series with the Phillies back in 2008.

The Yankees could lean towards letting go of some solid hitters who are expected to develop such as Drury and/or Austin to make this trade work as the Blue Jays have no use for an expiring starter on a failing team.

Francisco Liriano

Following this trend of expiring starting pitchers, next on the list is 34-year-old Dominican Francisco Liriano.

Another lefty, Liriano has not seen the same level of performance as Hamels nor Happ, but could still be a factorable piece to a successful playoff run for this Yankees team.

Liriano is currently on the DL with a right hamstring strain but is expected to be back before the all-star break. Before being placed on the DL, Liriano has shown some flashes of brilliance including an eight inning, one hit, outing against the second place Seattle Mariners back in May.

But Liriano does not have the much of the flashy stats to back up his abilities, meaning he could be undervalued in the trade market. A 3.90 ERA accompanied by an average 6.4 hits per nine innings.

Now you might be thinking that doesn’t sound too impressive; over six hits per nine innings? Well, as a matter of fact, this is only slightly higher than Luis Severino’s 6.3 hits per nine innings. And we are all more than impressed with the performance of Severino this season.

So Liriano may not have the same high strikeout rates as other “better” starters, or the electric fastball, or the potential to develop into a better ball player. But he gets the job done, he gets outs.

And you get what you pay for. Liriano’s contract ends after this season which again would be in favor of the Yankees. Plus his $4 million salary wouldn’t hurt the team much; would certainly leave the Yankees with room until hitting that luxury tax threshold which they so dearly wish to stay below.

Plus the Tigers, although only 3.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians for first place, recently lost 2x MVP, Miguel Cabrera, to season-ending left bicep surgery, only adding insult to injury (pun intended).

For a team not recognized to be all that great, the Tigers should be willing to part ways with Liriano for one of the many displaced Yankees.

Notable Mentions

This season, there are few solid to star level starting pitchers who are currently in their contract year and/or close to the end of their contracts with poorly performing teams. That being said, I believe the aforementioned players are the best options for the Yankees considered the state of the Yankees and the League itself.

However, if willing to take a chance, in hopes striking gold on an overlooked player, the Yankees could show interest in Trevor Cahill, Ervin Santana, and Garrett Richards.

Cahill, owed $1.5 million this year than entering free agency this coming offseason, is a 30-year-old who currently sits on the 10-day DL with the Oakland Athletics.

Besides his above par pitching this year, Cahill has the ability to pitch in relief, which could be of value to the Yankees if they wish to keep some of their present starters at the Major League level.

The risk involved is that Cahill hasn’t pitched over 100 innings in a single season since 2014. This is due to both injuries and more relief appearances rather than starting.

As for Santana, the risk is solely injury. Recovering from right middle finger surgery back in February, Santana isn’t expected to return until July at the earliest.

Therefore, Santana’s most recent and accurate stats are from last season. But those stats were pretty darn good. Coming off an All-Star year, just his second All-Star appearance, the first almost a decade earlier (2008), Santana is a reliable older arm who could be a useful final piece to the Yankees puzzle.

And in the last guaranteed year of his contract, next season is a club option so the choice of Santana’s return would be in the Yankees’ hands. The downside is his comparatively hefty salary of $13.5 million ($14 for 2019).

The last pitcher I will touch upon is Garrett Richards. A 30-year-old starter for the Los Angeles Angels who is also currently on the DL (10-day), Richards has pitched well thus far. With a 3.42 ERA in 68.1 innings, he is right around his career average of 3.52.

The risk with Richards is his health. Having not pitched a full season since 2015, Richards continually finds himself on the DL.

Another contract year starter, Richards is going to make $7.3 for 2018; easily accommodable by the Yankees.

All three of these teams should lean toward a sellers mindset come the end of July. The Angels are in third place in the AL West and without Shohei Ohtani for some time. The Twins are also in third with a below .500 record and the Athletics are in fourth right behind the Angels.

The New York Yankees are baseball’s best team. They could easily go into the playoffs with their current roster and compete against any other team. Add to that a healthy Yankees roster and they’re an even more complete team.

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But if the Bombers want to be even better than they already are, without loosing too much in return and without exceeding the luxury tax threshold, they should keep their eyes on these few players and/or players of this variety.

This does not mean these are the only players the Yankees should target but with the circumstances at hand, these are the most reasonable and valuable, both present and future.

But also recognize that a lot can happen between now and the trade deadline. Between injuries, hot and cold streaks and whatever else baseball has to offer, the Yankees situation could change at any moment.

Next: Yankees: Why Tyler Austin could be back at Triple-A for the long haul

Whether the Yankees do make any blockbuster trades at the trade deadline or not, patience is key. They should not jump into anything, being such a powerful and youthful team this year, any roster move should be to make them better, any move should be worthwhile.