Yankees: 3 NYY trade targets who’ve been wrecked by injuries

Pretty fitting that some potential future members of the Yankees family are already battling the injury bug before they even got a chance to suit up for the Bombers.

Even in projections and prognostications, the Injured List waits for no Yankee. Unfortunate.

This trade deadline will be a bit different for Brian Cashman. Though it briefly looked like he’d have to consider selling as the high-priced Yankees plummeted towards .500, his job has now been saved (for the time being) by a solid stretch against the Blue Jays and A’s.

Now with his attention turned to shoring up the roster, this year will be unique in another key way: the bullpen isn’t really going to be the focal point of his aggression. Despite injuries (or perhaps because of them?), the Yankees now have a deeper unit than usual, and will be welcoming back players like Darren O’Day (and Justin Wilson?) in the coming weeks.

So, what’s on the to-do list? A center fielder, left fielder, or … really any outfield bat who can hit left-handed. The starting rotation, once elite, isn’t exactly stable, either. Michael King has absorbed Corey Kluber’s rotation spot, though his starts seem to last four innings maximum; Luis Severino won’t be back for a while; and Jameson Taillon is playing himself out of the picture.

We’re not sure who Cash is eyeing, but the field has been narrowed due to recent developments beyond his control. The Reds, once though to be prime sellers, likely fancy themselves as Wild Card contenders now. The Giants are much more than that; remember April when we thought we might be able to pry Kevin Gausman loose? Embarrassing for us.

Then, of course, there are the injuries, which have taken these three players off the board for us, you’d think.

Injuries will stop the Yankees from making these 3 trades.

3. Spencer Turnbull

Spencer Turnbull first piqued our attention (along with Jose Ureña) when he rolled up to Yankee Stadium and shut down our “vaunted” lineup before faltering at the tail end of the outing and allowing four earned runs in five innings. This was one day after the Yankees put up 10 runs on Tarik Skubal and Detroit’s ‘pen, so we were impressed.

Needless to say, Turnbull only got stronger from there (his third start of the season), posting a no-hitter in Seattle and helping his Tigers sweep the Yankees at Comerica Park later in the month. Once barely on the trade radar, he’d fully vaulted to the top of many big boards…

…but then he got hurt. Turnbull’s most recent start was a four-inning outing in Chicago against the White Sox, where he used his trademark high heat to limit the surging Sox to one run before being pulled.

The righty’s arsenal looks a lot like what we were told we were getting in Jameson Taillon: power fastball high, sharp breaker, well-located plus stuff. Unfortunately, he suffered a right forearm strain on June 5, hasn’t begun to throw yet, and will be on the shelf well past the All-Star break.

Without any assurances about his durability moving forward, we don’t think Cashman will pull the trigger, especially with such a spotty track record with pitching acquisitions already.

And speaking of injured Tigers on similar timelines…

2. Matthew Boyd

Yeah, you’re, uh … not getting Gleyber Torres for Matthew Boyd this time around, Detroit.

The 2021 Tigers are yet another humorous example of the trade deadline suddenly reversing the narrative and making bad teams seem chock-full of viable additions for contenders. “The worst team in the AL Central has 5-6 solid options for your rotation or outfield.” Think about what you’re saying! Suddenly in a sport where tanking has run rampant, there’s battle-tested talent everywhere? But I digress.

Boyd has been an extremely popular trade target for eons, though he’s been valued by his own GM Al Avila so highly that dealmaking has never really been an option — especially for the Yankees, of whom Torres was demanded when the two sides talked back in 2019. Yeah, “Next Man Up,” our whole team’s injured, but sure, we’ll trade your our star 22-year-old. Gotcha.

This season, the 30-year-old Boyd (still with 1.5 years of control!) is getting closer to the trade precipice, though Avila probably should’ve been reasonable and sold him in ’19 with the extra years (and would’ve made out like a king with 2020’s near-cancellation). He’s posted a 3.44 ERA and 1.203 WHIP, though with fewer strikeouts than a contender would like to see (56 in 70.2 innings).

Also … he’s hurt, too, and nobody in Detroit expects him back before the break, either. The lefty hit the IL last Tuesday with left arm discomfort, and though he was determined not to have structural damage, he won’t be doing any pitching for at least the next month.

Regression in strikeouts, nebulous arm discomfort, Tigers asking for the moon … yeah, we probably would’ve passed here anyway, but the injury rules him out.