Yankees: 3 pitching trades Brian Cashman can pull off this offseason

1. Zach Plesac

The increasingly-desperate Indians could look to the Yankees for Zach Plesac relief.

If Zach Plesac doesn’t defy protocol and venture out in Chicago a few weeks ago, this is so far from a conversation.

The Tribe are now looking to dump Plesac, with very good reason, and unfortunately, this means that risk-averse teams like the Yankees now have to weigh the moral implications of donating a second chance to a kid who made a locker room-splitting mistake.

We know the negatives surrounding Plesac. The day before his Indians teammates were going to break for a day off and visit their families, he risked the health and well-being of every one of his supposed brothers, potentially exposing himself to coronavirus with an ill-advised night out.

Cleveland is fractured, but not evenly; you won’t find many Plesac defenders in that locker room right about now. And if he’s not dealt midseason, Brian Cashman has the ability to circle back once the fervor dies down this offseason and see what it’d take to import a pitcher who’d broken out in 2020 otherwise.

In three exceptional starts, the 25-year-old Plesac holds a 1.29 ERA, whiffing 24 in 21.0 innings. The Indians, led by their rotation, would be dealing from a position of strength — they even increased the righty’s value by demoting him and removing service time from his shoulders.

Working out a Plesac trade comes with some serious baggage, but it will likely be less weighty when the season concludes. This feels icky, but there will certainly be a wide array of teams dipping their toes in the water here.

Yankees: 3 NYY Legends Who Should Have Their Numbers Retired

The New York Yankees are going to run out of active numbers at some point, but that shouldn't stop them from retiring these jerseys.