3 relievers Yankees can trade for after Adam Ottavino deal

1. Josh Staumont

Why don’t the Yankees just nab the highest-upside option in Josh Staumont?

27-year-old Josh Staumont is entering his prime in Kansas City with only two big-league seasons under his belt.

Therefore, anyone who trades for him will have to convince KC that Staumont either won’t be a part of the next, great Royals team — or they’ll have to slightly overpay. He’s locked down under team control through 2025, and won’t even be arbitration eligible until 2023. Sad for Staumont, but it’s quite possible that, because of his unfortunate timeline, he’ll only cash in on one impactful contract if he keeps this up.

In case you missed Staumont’s work on a middling Royals team with plenty else going on during 2020, the stats speak for themselves here. 25.2 innings pitched, 37 Ks, 2.45 ERA and a wicked hammer.

Instead of spare parts, it might take a top-10 prospect to add Staumont (Alexander Vizcaino?), in addition to a player like, say, Miguel Andujar. The Royals are looking for offense and lottery tickets, and seem to think they can compete sooner rather than later in the AL Central — and, watching Cleveland take purposeful steps backward, they might not be wrong.

The Royals (and Tigers, for that matter) will be hungry soon enough to attack the White Sox and Twins, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be enticed to give up on fungible relievers in the meantime. Staumont, ridiculously cheap and insanely effective, should be the Yankees’ Plan A.

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