Yankees: Is Twins’ asking price for Jose Berrios trade too expensive?

Like we said, at this juncture, if the New York Yankees are going to make any moves at the trade deadline, they can’t be short-term. The 2021 version of this team is too unreliable.

Want to still go for it this year, though? Then do so while also preparing for 2022 and beyond. It’s not too much to ask.

There will be some impactful players available beyond 2021 as well as others that will require general manager Brian Cashman to convince opposing teams to part with them. One big name we’re thinking of is Minnesota Twins pitcher Jose Berrios.

The Twins aren’t exactly keen on losing the talented right-hander, but Dan Hayes of The Athletic has provided us with a potential trade package that might coax Minnesota to do so.

Acquiring a guy like Berrios would be advantageous for the Yankees. He’d provide a top-of-the-rotation presence for 2021 and 2022 and help keep the team’s championship window open for a bit longer.

After all, we saw what a dominant Yankees rotation can do for this team. Remember their 23-9 run in May/early June? That was largely the product of quality outings and average offense.

Is the Twins’ reported asking price for Jose Berrios worth it for the Yankees?

Now comes the next step. Building a trade package for the former first-round pick. Hayes says the Twins are looking for an MLB player whose in his pre-arbitration years as well as two top-100 prospects. Let’s see what the Yankees have to offer.

Pre-Arbitration Players

• Clint Frazier
• Miguel Andújar
• Domingo German
• Michael King
• Gio Urshela
• Jonathan Loaisiga

Top-100 Prospects

• Jasson Dominguez
• Clarke Schmidt
• Deivi Garcia
• Oswald Peraza
• Anthony Volpe

The Yankees aren’t trading Dominguez, Urshela and Loaisiga, so let’s get that out of the way. Garcia also may no longer be a top-100 prospect after his rough start to 2021, but Volpe cracked Baseball America’s list after his hot start. So, at the very least, it’s a one-for-one swap.

That leaves solid but rarely-discussed pre-arb options for the Twins, though the prospects are intriguing. What about package of Frazier, Schmidt and Volpe? Maybe Andújar, Garcia and Peraza? It seems like any deal will have to include three of those six players, and potentially another top-20 prospect if the Twins aren’t keen on Frazier/Andújar. We won’t even entertain Minnesota’s likely non-existent interest in German and King.

We’re sure the Yankees can amend the package and maybe offer both Schmidt and Garcia (both of whom are on the cusp of MLB readiness) while including another top-15 prospect. At the end of the day, something can work here since the Bombers have one of the most promising farm systems in baseball all of a sudden. And if there’s a player to splurge on, it’s Berrios, who has a year and a half of control at a team-friendly price.

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