Yankees Rumors: Which Diamondbacks starter is the better trade option?

With just a week to go until the July 31st trade deadline, it looks like the Arizona Diamondbacks will be sellers and starting pitchers Zack Greinke and Robbie Ray could be on the move. Either one of them would be a solid addition to the Yankees rotation but which one would be the better fit?

The Yankees are well on their way to their first division title since 2012 but in order to make it back to the World Series for the first time since 2009, they’re likely going to need another starting pitcher.

Right now it’s hard to predict the starters who are certainly going to be dealt because it’s unclear which teams are buyers and which ones are sellers. Marcus Stroman and Mike Minor are probably the two guys who are the most likely to be traded because the Blue Jays are way out of the playoff race and the Rangers are fading quickly after a great first half.

Two more options could be the aforementioned Robbie Ray and Zack Greinke. Entering play Thursday the D’Backs record is 52-51 which leaves them three back of the Cardinals for the second wild-card spot. They’re in the mix for sure, but according to the New York Post, it sounds like their GM Mike Hazen is leaning towards selling. Per Greg Joyce of the NY Post:

“The belief that a .500 team is going to win the World Series, get through the wild-card format that we have and win the World Series is, I don’t think objectively that’s a position we should be staking ourselves to.”

Hazen doesn’t sound like a GM who’s confident that his team is good enough to make a deep playoff run and I can’t blame him for being honest. Sure the D’Backs could end up sneaking into that final Wild Card spot like many teams in the NL, but to expect them to advance deep into October over teams like the Dodgers, Braves, and Cubs is unrealistic.

In addition to Ray and Greinke, Arizona has guys like Adam Jones, David Peralta and Greg Holland who should interest contending clubs looking to upgrade their rosters. They could all bring back some promising prospects to help the D’Backs replenish what is considered a weak farm system around the league.

It looks like they’re going to sell at this point and if they do the Yankees could be a landing spot for either one of they’re two best starters. With that being said, which one would be the better fit inin New York?

Greinke: 21 GS, 10-4, 2.93 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 123 K’s, .225 OPP BA, 135 IP

Ray: 22 GS, 9-6, 3.95 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 162 K’s, .227 OPP BA, 123 IP

From a financial standpoint, there’s no doubt that Ray would make more sense for the Yankees and any other team for that matter. He’s under team control through 2020 and is only making $6.05 million this season before his final year of arbitration. Greinke on the other hand still has $81.5M owed to him on the 6-year, $205M deal he signed back in 2016.

If the Yankees acquired Greinke they would blow by the third luxury tax threshold of $246M and would have to pay the steepest penalty. That’s something owner Hal Steinbrenner said he’d be willing to do, but only if he felt that the deal would put them over the top.

As good as Greinke’s been this year, I don’t think he would put the Yankees over the top as World Series favorites as much as a Trevor Bauer or Madison Bumgarner would. For that reason and because of his contract I see the Yankees staying away from him and focusing on those guys (if they’re available) and Ray as well, as Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweeted on Tuesday.

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Even though Greinke is having a better season and is the better pitcher historically the Yankees probably prefer Ray because of his contract situation and because he’s a high strikeout pitcher. Ray has an outstanding K per 9 rate of 11.9 this season and has had one of at least 12.0 in the last two seasons. He gives up a lot of home runs as well (21 so far) and his walk total is a bit high (58) but when he has his best stuff he can shut down any lineup in baseball.

Ray might not be at the top of the Yankees wishlist nor should he be, but they clearly have interest in him and he could be the fallback option they pursue if they miss out on Bauer or Bumgarner. He’s not an ace and he might not even be a number two starter but he’d definitely provide a boost and slide nicely into their playoff rotation.

When it comes to what it would take to acquire Ray the Yanks could probably get him without having to include Deivi Garcia, their top pitching prospect. They might have to include OF Clint Frazier, who many think will be on the move, in order to get a deal done but since Ray wouldn’t be a rental they might be more willing to do so.