Yankees: Did win vs Detroit reveal new NYY trade target?

The story of the New York Yankees’ tidy 2-0 win over the Detroit Tigers Sunday to complete the series sweep was Corey Kluber’s eight innings of dominance, and rightfully so.

There was a similarly powerful performer on the mound for the other guys, though, who may have opened some eyes in the Bomber dugout.

Jose Ureña, oft forgotten as a Miami Marlin due to his boom-or-bust performances, has an Opening Day starter’s pedigree and might be an intriguing mid-season depth addition for a Yankees team that could always use more innings.

If he keeps pitching the way he did on Sunday, too, the Tigers would

love

to get rid of him at a premium, too.

The last time Ureña appeared at Yankee Stadium before Sunday’s seven-inning outing, he was being struck on the arm by a DJ LeMahieu liner, which resulted in a fracture last September.

This time around, things went far more smoothly, continuing a recent run of dominance that should be placing him on your radar.

Yankees Rumors: Could Jose Ureña be a trade target?

Prior to this season, the 29-year-old Ureña inked a one-year, $3.25 million deal in Detroit after being non-tendered in Miami.

Did it make sense to cut the veteran loose? Well…yes, probably. Ureña’s 4-10, 5.21 mark in 2019 was unsightly, as was his shortened 2020 (5.40 ERA, 6.06 FIP in five starts). Add in poor peripherals even during his stronger years (14-7, 3.82 ERA in 2017, but with a 5.20 FIP), and you have the recipe for someone who’s never quite reached the ceiling he appeared to.

Perhaps something’s clicked between the effervescent righty and Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter, though. His peripherals match his ERA (3.77 and 3.65 FIP entering Sunday), and he’s inducing grounders at a league-high rate. In successive starts, he’s tamed the red-hot A’s, Pirates, White Sox and Yankees, with only one win to show for it.

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It’s possible the fiery Ureña could play very well at Yankee Stadium in the heat of a pennant race, and it’s a guarantee that the perpetually-rebuilding Tigers would love to hand him off to someone else for assets, as long as his ascent continues.

We won’t sign off on the acquisition just yet, but Ureña is on our radar for the months of May and June, something we wouldn’t have said a few weeks ago.

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