Yankees: 3 MLB trade deadline chips plummeting in value

1. Deivi Garcia

What the … heck happened to Deivi Garcia at Triple-A this season?

Less than one year ago, the steady righty was drawing Pedro Martinez comparisons while saving the plummeting Yankees season as a 21-year-old. Now, the diminutive proto-ace can’t find the plate, walking 32 men in 43.2 innings pitched at Triple-A and sporting a 7.21 minor-league ERA (6.48 in two MLB cameos!).

He didn’t seem ready before he was promoted last year, but by and large acquitted himself extremely well, mastering the Toronto Blue Jays both at home and on the road in two crucial starts where he looked dominant and completely in control of the game. Now, the game’s controlling him every five days, and he was passed over for a start Wednesday in favor of Asher Wojciechowski.

A guy like that will not be the top option in any trade packages this summer, despite still ranking in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects. And that’s a shame.

Again, nobody expected the Yankees to trade Garcia this past winter, and nobody should’ve. He seemed more like rotation depth than deal-making fodder. For no good reason, though, his trademark command and control have both fallen by the wayside this year, and despite his pedigree, he seems likely to be nothing more than a secondary piece in any deadline deal.

At one point this offseason, we all willingly speculated about whether or not we’d include either Garcia or Schmidt in a supposed Lance Lynn trade with the Texas Rangers. Now, Lynn is locked down for two more years as Chicago’s co-ace, and the Yankees are scrambling for Wojciechowski starts, even though Garcia is both still here and active. Very frustrating.

Yankees: 3 untouchable players at MLB trade deadline

The New York Yankees definitely won't be trading these players -- no, not the super obvious ones. This is the next tier. They'll be here after July 31.