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?

2. Trade for Nick Senzel

Could the Yankees poach a very recent top pick in Nick Senzel?

Playing the role of right-handed Brett Gardner for the Yankees…former second overall pick (in 2016!) Nick Senzel?

Widely rumored to be available, Senzel would be another prime example of the Yankees’ willingness to take a chance on talent, and having the former Red paired with Mike Tauchman as the team’s fourth and fifth outfielders would shave some cash off the budget and provide a righty-lefty tandem.

So far, Senzel’s MLB career doesn’t exactly live up to his minor-league exploits or University of Tennessee stardom, and for that, I cannot begin to even Volunteer an explanation. But there’s got to be untapped potential here. Senzel was thought of as a strong bat-to-ball guy with moderate power and solid defense, and he raked at the minor-league level, hitting .321 and .310 in his two full seasons with .391 and .378 OBPs.

In the bigs, though, his first full season featured a .256 mark with 12 homers, and he didn’t place in the Rookie of the Year balloting, and his follow-up was a disaster (.186 in 23 games during the year from hell).

At this point, the Reds probably wouldn’t surrender Senzel at a bargain-basement rate simply because he was so recently a crown jewel of their system. That being said, his value has obviously depreciated over the past two seasons, and he might only cost a 40-man top-10 pitching prospect (Vizcaino or Gomez), plus a back-end top 30 guy. Honestly, at this point? I’d rather have Miguel Andujar on the roster, and would not include his elite bat in an attempt to trade for Senzel. But others may disagree.