Yankees Rumors: Don’t expect to see a trade for Steven Matz anytime soon

This week rumors have been swirling about the possibility of the Yankees pursuing a trade for Mets left-hander Steven Matz. While there’s no doubt Matz would definitely be a solid addition to the Yankees starting rotation it’s hard to imagine the two cross-town rivals agreeing on a deal anytime soon.

With Luis Severino out for the season and James Paxton out until May or June, the Yankees could use some starting pitching help. However, don’t expect them to acquire Matz from the Mets anytime soon.

A deal between the two New York teams makes some sense on paper because of the Yankees need and the Mets abundance of veteran staters. Matz is somewhat expendable because he’s not even guaranteed a spot on the Mets starting staff to open the season following the additions of Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha this offseason.

The Yankees on the other hand technically have two open spots in their rotation although it’s safe to assume that Jordan Montgomery will be the team’s fourth starter. The fifth and final spot, however, is still very much up for grabs between a collection of young pitchers with limited big-league experience and some who haven’t even made their debuts yet.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman said that the plan is to replace Luis Severino internally to start the season, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t looking outside of the organization for potential help. I’m sure the Yanks are hopeful one of their young arms will earn the final spot over the course of the next three weeks, but you can bet Cashman will continue to keep an eye on the trade market.

Matz’s name has been linked to the Yankees for the past couple of seasons, but a deal has never come close to happening. Whether he wins a spot in the Mets rotation or not I don’t think that will change for a couple of reasons.

The first is the fact that the Mets do not like to make trades with the Yankees which is understandable. Their ownership is extremely hesitant to trade a player across town who could potentially help the Yankees win a World Series and all the headlines in the New York newspapers.

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The last time the two rivals agreed to a significant trade was in December of 2001 when the Yanks acquired Robin Ventura for David Justice. Other than that they’ve only agreed to four trades over the past 18 years and none of them have significantly impacted either team at the major league level.

An even bigger reason why a deal won’t happen is the Mets supposed asking price for Matz. According to the New York Post, they would want a major league ready position player in return, not prospects. Miguel Andujar’s name was floated around as someone who would interest the Mets, but the Yankees would be absolutely crazy to include him in any deal.

Even before the injuries to Judge and Stanton, it wouldn’t have made sense to deal Miggy for Matz and now that they need him in their lineup more than ever it why would it now? Matz is a solid starting pitcher but Miggy still has the chance to be a perennial All-Star and he’s a guy the Yanks should want batting in the middle of their lineup for years to come.

The Yankees aren’t that desperate to add another starter from outside the organization and I don’t think the Mets are even actively looking to deal Matz. This is a marriage that’s just not meant to be so it’s time everyone moves on… until the next ridiculous rumor comes around.