3 relievers Yankees can trade for after Adam Ottavino deal

2. Mychal Givens

Could the Yankees plunder a former divisional foe like Mychal Givens?

Why on earth did the Rockies trade for Orioles frisbee-hurling righty Mychal Givens during the middle of the 2020 pandemic season?

Why … why did that happen?

Givens is the most expensive option on the table here, in terms of cash on the nail, but he’s only due just over $4 million for 2021, his final campaign before free agency. The Yankees are unlikely to secure a free agent option for lower than that total, so why not include Givens, who they’re uniquely familiar with?

From what we’ve seen of the somewhat inconsistent slider-dominant arm over the years in Baltimore, he’s, well … he’s a lot like a half-price Ottavino. Givens was outright special in Baltimore last summer (13 innings, 1.38 ERA) before falling to earth at a mile high in Denver, posting a 6.75 mark. Most years, you can find Givens at over a strikeout per inning and somewhere between 3.50 and 3.75 in 70-ish innings pitched. That’ll play in the seventh inning, and the Yankees might not even need him much after the sixth.

The Rockies are poised to be wheelers and/or dealers this offseason, if they know what’s good for them, and Givens feels like a piece they picked up by accident last year and forgot to drop early in the offseason. Maybe it’s time for the Yanks to pry.