Yankees: 3 trades NYY should pursue with Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are open for business, and the Yankees might want to trade with them before the cupboard is dry.

We asserted earlier this week that the Yankees needed to touch base with the Texas Rangers about their many controllable assets, especially ace Lance Lynn.

Um…about that.

Before publication, the White Sox “shocked” the baseball world by adding Lynn to their rotation, pairing him with Dallas Keuchel, Michael Kopech and company. And without Lynn involved in the resulting Yankees rumors, the slate of potential fits looked a little bleaker, replete with stretches like Joey Gallo and underwhelming options like Jordan Lyles.

So, as is often the case both professionally and personally (don’t text your ex unless you have, like, something epic to say), it’s time to move on. After all, we’ve found someone new: The Cincinnati Reds.

Cincy has been the most sell-off-prone franchise in MLB thus far this offseason, stuck in a Central that seems especially motivated to cut costs, both in the NL and AL (except for the Royals, who can’t stop signing marginal upgrades like Carlos Santana). Therefore, it appears the Reds could help the Yankees out both in the bullpen and rotation — and, of course, Cincinnati also has current ownership of our NYY White Whale.

So, before these guys get traded for real elsewhere and we learn Brian Cashman was sitting on his hands while rappelling down a building, let’s examine the fits?

3. Trade for Amir Garrett

Young lefty Amir Garrett would be an electric fit for the Yankees bullpen.

Imagine Amir Garrett in the middle of a Yankees-Red Sox game? I rest my case.

Garrett, formerly a St. John’s basketball player, has Big Apple roots, which I’d love to exploit to get the dominant lefty to the Bronx for 2021.

He’s the kind of guy you don’t trade unless you plan on engaging in a full-scale teardown, but by the looks of it, the Reds are in the process of fetching the bolt cutters. At this point, Garrett is the bullpen piece that should interest the Yankees the most, followed by swingman Michael Lorenzen and 2020 revelation Lucas Sims. The Reds, it should be noted, also did the Yankees a favor when they non-tendered Archie Bradley a few weeks back.

Garrett will be entering his fifth major league season, and comes with three additional years of control after posting a 2.45 ERA in 2020, whiffing 26 men in 18.1 innings pitched. Perhaps more known for his brawling ability after attempting to take down the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout all by himself, Garrett’s wipeout slider, mid-90s fastball, and affable personality would all be excellent fits for a roster that hasn’t had a matchup lefty in the bullpen for the middle innings in ages.

It’s anyone’s guess what it would take to secure Garrett’s services, but the Yankees and Reds recently found common ground on Aroldis Chapman, and might be able to balance the books again. Perhaps a 40-man top prospect like Alexander Vizcaino or Yoendrys Gomez (Nos. 8 and 9) along with lefty TJ Sikkema (No. 17) could get this over the finish line?

1. Trading for Sonny Gray (or Luis Castillo!)

People are talking. Talking ’bout people. Those people are the Yankees, who might trade for Sonny Gray.

I will forgive you if you do not read this blurb. Just, like, don’t message me specifically to tell me you didn’t read it. Then I’ll feel bad.

Acknowledging that the ceiling on a potential Yankees-Sonny Gray trade may be identical to the floor (in that there’s almost no chance that it’ll really happen), it’s important to note that everything wrong with Gray’s tenure in the Bronx will be gone in 2021. Specifically, Larry Rothschild and, well, some of the fans.

Would Gray commit to the Yanks knowing that fans would be ready to jump at him at the first sign of weakness? Probably not. But the infrastructure’s very different this time around, and Matt Blake is a nurturer who we wish had gotten his hands on the righty in the first place. Something tells me the new Yankees wouldn’t tell Gray to abandon his pitches.

If the Reds and Yankees really do get frisky on a Gray trade, it would probably take No. 4 prospect Oswaldo Peraza, No. 5 prospect Luis Gil, and an upside play like Andujar. It’s even possible that, given the cost for one year of Lance Lynn, Clarke Schmidt and Deivi Garcia would get involved, too — and quite likely, taking into account the two years of control on Gray, pre-team option. That we cannot endorse.

But, um…what about both Schmidt and Garcia for Luis Castillo? It seems as if he’s untouchable in the moment, but each week, the Reds begin to peel another corner of the covers off their current roster. Schmidt, Garcia and Estevan Florial for Castillo. A regional sports blog can dream.

Yankees: 3 trades NYY should pursue with Texas Rangers

The New York Yankees are going to have to enter the trade market over the next few weeks, and the Texas Rangers could be a viable partner.