Yankees: 3 way-too-massive trades NYY can make to shake up season

CINCINNATI, OHIO - APRIL 03: Nick Castellanos #2 of the Cincinnati Reds looks on after a run in the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park on April 03, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OHIO - APRIL 03: Nick Castellanos #2 of the Cincinnati Reds looks on after a run in the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park on April 03, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
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For the first time since potentially 2005, the Yankees feel stuck in a malaise that they can’t get out of this late in a campaign.

That season, famously, the team responded to being stuck in the mud by making big changes — at least, comparatively.

Enter Chien-Ming Wang and Robinson Cano from the farm system. Enter pitching longshots like Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon. Against all odds … the Bombers profited, bouncing back from the doldrums of the 2004 postseason to make it to Game 5 of the ALDS.

Memorable and iconic? Not really. But they survived.

This time around, the Yankees remain at 9-13 towards the end of April following a miniature run through the Cleveland Indians. Nothing about this offense’s struggles makes any sense; they’re middle of the pack in striking out, but each and every player’s slash line is in the ground, and don’t even get us started on the group’s slugging percentage.

If they don’t homer, they lose, and they rarely homer.

The pitching? Well, the bullpen’s been elite, but the starters are mostly behaving like members of the bullpen, completing five innings less than half the time.

Have the Yankees been unlucky and uncharacteristically terrible? Sure. But to the extent where it’s likely to click if nothing changes? Not sure about that.

So, what’ll it be? A prospect promotion or two in the middle of May? Adding Luis Severino at the end of his rehab and calling that a trade deadline acquisition? Another trade for a bounce-back candidate who’s sure to be the wrong call — like, say, Matt Harvey?

Or the Yankees could forget the luxury tax, make these three blockbuster trades (which are, let’s be honest, way too big) and hope a partial roster reconstruction does the trick. Reminder: don’t hug your prospects, because they won’t hug you back.

These 3 massive trades could help set the Yankees’ season on the right course.

Trevor Story #27 of the Colorado Rockies (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Trevor Story #27 of the Colorado Rockies (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

3. Trevor Story and German Marquez for Gleyber Torres, Deivi Garcia and Gary Sanchez

The Rockies are either the most likely or least likely trading partner for every shopper in the league.

After all, they ditched GM Jeff Bridich “mutually” on Monday afternoon, but do we have any idea what his in-house replacement’s MO is going to be? Will he be encouraged to deal Trevor Story too late after Bridich sat on Nolan Arenado for years before the situation finally boiled over? If so, we would like to get involved in those proceedings, which we assume would be part of a full implosion.

Enter German Marquez, who’s signed through 2023 with a ’24 team option at $8.6 million per year. Spending $11 million on Corey Kluber and nearly $7 million on Gary Sanchez doesn’t seem ideal for luxury tax purposes anymore, does it?

Is this drastic? Of course! These are drastic trades! And if Torres continues to see the most pitches in the strike zone of his entire career while putting up an expected weighted on-base average of just .230 against them, he’ll find himself on the wrong side of potential shake-ups.

Both for his performance and for the Yankees’ self-imposed financial straits, Sanchez will find himself in many dollar-saving deals like this. Seems like a free All-Star? Sure! But he hasn’t performed like one in a long while, and he’s reaching 2004 Nomar status. Keep an eye on the Rockies. We can’t rule something insane like this out if the funk continues to linger in the Bronx.

Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

2. Max Scherzer for Clarke Schmidt and 2 Prospects

We tried to add a little something to Washington’s side in this ideal deadline deal, but there’s just … not much on that roster we’d like to pluck. Taking on Kyle Schwarber’s financial burden? Unpleasant. Adding another rotation piece (Joe Ross)…? Does that move the needle?

We’ve had our eye on Scherzer since his 2014 free agency, and we’re not giving up now. In fact, we’ll address this again when he hits free agency again following this season, and the Yankees have the chance to toss him a two-year pillow contract to be Gerrit Cole and Luis Severino’s running mate with championship pedigree.

This time around, though it’s not the same level of blockbuster, the Yankees should be more than willing to center a Scherzer package around Schmidt. Now 25, there’s a lot to like about the powerful righty … except we’ve rarely seen him on the field. He entered the organization while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, he lost what was supposed to be a full season at Double-A in 2020, and he succumbed to an elbow issue in what was basically the first bullpen session of 2021. We’d rather he thrive in pinstripes than elsewhere, but at this point, you cannot bank on his uncertainty when you might be able to obtain Scherzer in the final summer of his current deal.

It would’ve been nice to make this a blockbuster of some kind, but instead, it’s just a referendum on the Yankees’ collection of fringy, injury-prone prospects. If they’re in a somewhat more stable place and could contend by midsummer with an extra push … then if not now, when?

Luis Castillo #58 of the Cincinnati Reds (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Luis Castillo #58 of the Cincinnati Reds (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

1. Luis Castillo and Nicholas Castellanos for Deivi Garcia, Clint Frazier, Gary Sanchez and a Prospect

The only reason Castillo is starting to become attainable is due to his dip in velocity so far in 2021, which isn’t encouraging, but also makes about as much sense as the Yankees’ collective backslide on pitches down the pipe. After taking a step back to assess the situation, we’d be willing to bet on a bounce back from both.

After all, his average fastball velocity is back up to the 90th percentile, though the results still aren’t there.

The Castellanos acquisition in Frazier’s stead? That comes from both a desire to maximize Frazier’s value and grab a more talented player who exudes Rougned Odor’s helpful energy. Frazier was handed the starting left field job to open 2021, but found himself benched for Brett Gardner at the first sign of trouble, and is also in the middle of the worst 13-game stretch for a Yankees outfielder in franchise history. The team seems committed to his failure more than his success, and we hope he thrives in Cincinnati in this scenario.

Castellanos, the 29-year-old firestarter who got the entire Cardinals roster angry at him earlier this month, has an OPS+ of 163 (yes, Yankees fans, it’s possible to perform offensively at a level that’s above league average). He doesn’t walk much, but he screams a lot. He hits for power, he attacks the baseball, and he hasn’t posted an OPS+ below 120 in a full campaign since the 2017 season.

This deal is contingent on Cincinnati face-planting, but don’t rule out something bananas happening this summer. If it does, the Yankees would much rather former stars like Sanchez be included than top prospects, making the deal a cost-cutting maneuver, too.

Who blinks first? Probably Cincinnati, but come on, it’d be interesting!

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