Yankees: Which starting pitcher are they most likely to trade for?

As we get closer to the July 31st trade deadline it’s becoming clearer by the day that the Yankees are going to have to make a move for another starting pitcher. With no true ace-caliber starters expected to be moved in the coming weeks which starter are they most likely to acquire?

A couple of weeks ago I thought the Yankees might still be able to contend for a World Championship with the starting rotation they currently have. Even without Jordan Montgomery for the season and Masahiro Tanaka for up to a month, I didn’t think a trade for another starter was as necessary as everyone else was making it out to be.

Domingo German was showing real promise after stepping in to replace Montgomery and Jonathan Loasiga looked great in his major league debut. However, things have changed since then as German’s momentum was halted by a terrible start this past Sunday. Loaisiga has looked good in two of his three starts but he hasn’t given the Yankees much length and he’s still too young to rely on every fifth day.

Whether the two rookies pitch well or not in the coming weeks we can pretty much guarantee that  GM Brian Cashman is going to make a move. Who they will trade for is hard to predict at the moment but there’s one veteran lefty who makes the most sense.

J.A Happ

RIght now Happ might be the early favorite to be acquired by the Yanks before the deadline for multiple reasons. He’s having another solid season with a 10-3 record, a 3.62 ERA and an impressive 106 strikeouts. He’s also pitched well for years in a very tough division and for his career, he’s 7-3 with a 3.09 ERA against the rival Red Sox.

Since there aren’t any controllable top young starters currently on the trade market Happ makes sense as a match for the Yankees because he’s a free agent at the end of the season. That means he probably won’t cost them any of their “untouchable prospects.”

If a deal were to get done the Blue Jays would likely ask for one of the organization’s starters currently on their Triple-A Scranton roster according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. That doesn’t include their top pitching prospect in left-hander Justus Sheffield but it could include right-hander, Chance Adams. Adams is the Yankees fourth best prospect per MLB Pipeline but he has struggled this season at Scranton. Still, he’s only 23 years old and has upside that the Jays would likely be more than willing take a chance on (no pun intended).

The Yankees have always liked Adams but not as much as Sheffield or High-A starter Albert Abreu and they’re overloaded with starters throughout the system. As Sherman noted the Yankees are going to have to put some of their minor league starters on the 40-man roster this offseason. Not everyone can fit so someone like Adams could become expendable.

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In addition to a young starter who’s close to being big-league ready, adding a position player like Tyler Wade, Billy McKinney or Tyler Austin could also be enough to peak the Blue Jay’s interest. Outside of maybe Austin this season, none of these guys project to have much of a future with the Yankees. They’re blocked by better players on the main roster, but they each have the talent to help another big league club right now.

This is just a mock trade but given that Happ is 35 years old and at the end of his contract this could be enough to get him based on his value. He’s not an ideal number two type to go behind Luis Severino but he is a quality veteran with postseason experience so the Jays should get some nice pieces in return from whoever they trade him to.

Cole Hamels is another name to keep an eye on who’s been discussed but he has a no-trade clause along with $20 million club option for next year that comes with a $6 million buy out. It’s very likely he would wave it to play for a contender, but because of the Yankees desire to stay under the luxury tax threshold, I’m sure they’d rather take on the remaining money of Happ’s $13 million salary.

Personally, I don’t think they could go wrong with either Happ or Hamels but based on the rumors that are out there Happ makes the most sense. He’s having the better season, he’s always had success against the Red Sox and he won’t cost multiple top prospects because he’ll be a free agent at season’s end.

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While it’s no guarantee that Happ would be enough to help the Yankees win the division and win in the playoffs he would be a solid rental addition who would certainly boost their chances to do so.