Yankees Rumors: Brian Cashman is targeting a lot of pitching at trade deadline

Expect the Yankees to target pitching reinforcements at the trade deadline.

To nobody’s surprise, the New York Yankees are already reaping the benefits of signing Gerrit Cole for $324 million this offseason. The perennial Cy Young contender is 4-0 through six starts, across which he’s compiled a 2.75 ERA, 44 strikeouts, and a 0.89 WHIP.

Despite his early success in the Bronx, however, Cole hasn’t been able to make up for the lack of consistency from the rest of the rotation. Injuries certainly haven’t helped, but there’s no denying that the unpredictability from the other starters won’t be sustainable for the rest of the way.

Well, according to SNY insider Andy Martino, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman will be in the market for pitching reinforcements leading up to the Aug. 31 trade deadline. What makes this rumor so captivating is the club could look to add to both its starting rotation and bullpen.

Three key members of the Yankees pitching staff — including James Paxton, Zack Britton and Tommy Kahnle — the latter of whom is done for the year, are all currently on the shelf. As robust as their pitching depth is, no team with championship aspirations would be able to overcome these losses without adding experienced and proven hurlers.

Fans in the Bronx will be quick to remember New York’s loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday when reliever Luis Avilan, who was sent to the IL after the game, and Adam Ottavino imploded in the sixth inning after the offense rallied to take the lead in the previous frame. If that’s a sign of things to come, the offense, as electric as it is, will have a hard time keeping up.

If the Yankees fail to strike a deal for the second consecutive deadline, they will be forced to turn to young guns like Jonathan Loaisiga, Clarke Schmidt, Deivi Garcia, and potentially Michael King a lot more often than they would like in high-leverage situations.

We’re not entirely sure what the pitching market looks like during this 60-game sprint, but the Yankees luckily have a master negotiator in Cashman pulling the strings. If the 53-year-old GM sees a player he wants, expect him to make an enticing offer.

In the meantime, stay tuned for updates as we inch closer to next week’s deadline, because it sounds like New York could add some needed pitching auxiliaries within the next seven days.