Yankees: 3 underrated pitchers NYY should trade for after 2021

Though the New York Yankees have watched a patchwork starting rotation step up time and again in 2021, that’s no excuse for opting not to fortify things in the offseason, too.

Rest assured: the Bombers have learned their lesson. They will not let under-the-radar opportunities to acquire pitching pass by in the near future.

This season, the Yankees banked on a rotation featuring Corey Kluber and Domingo German towards the back, with a returning Luis Severino arriving midseason. Unfortunately, Sevy’s progression back from Tommy John surgery came with a leg-related setback, and Kluber has missed June, July and August; his likely return coincides with German maintaining his nebulous “still working on it” status.

Next year? Jameson Taillon, acquired based on the idea he’d likely bounce back, will be a huge factor after doing just that. Severino, Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery will ideally be at full strength. German’s role isn’t guaranteed; he might be a depth piece. Kluber likely won’t be back. Clarke Schmidt, Deivi Garcia and Luis Gil will all theoretically be around. You can never, ever, ever have too much pitching, though, and right now, we’d say this snapshot qualifies as “just enough”.

So, who’s next?

The Yankees could always plumb the free agent market now that they’ve ducked under the luxury tax threshold this season (cool). Max Scherzer preemptively blocked a trade to New York a few weeks back, but maybe enough of an overpay over two or three years will convince him to let bygones be bygones. Other top starting pitching options of a slightly lower caliber include Kevin Gausman, Marcus Stroman and 38-year-old Zack Greinke, which could be kind of fun.

These are the 2021-22 Yankees, though. Now that they’ve spent for Gerrit Cole, do you really anticipate them spending again? It’s far more likely their next pitching reinforcement will come via trade from someone else’s roster, and there are a couple of obvious targets who could be unlocked — including a former Yankee.

The Yankees could trade for these 3 underrated pitchers after 2021.

3. Caleb Smith, Arizona Diamondbacks

Remember Caleb Smith?! We won’t begrudge you if you blocked him out of your Yankees memories, but in 2017, Smith made a few appearances (two starts) and totaled a 7.71 ERA before being shipped to Miami in the offseason trade for…Michael King! Garrett Cooper went to the Marlins, too. Odd deal.

Since that offseason, Smith has shown flashes of impressive performance, though his ERA hasn’t quite matched the whiff numbers in 2021. In 2018 and 2019, he posted 4.19 and 4.52 marks, while striking out well over a batter per inning (168 in 153.1 innings in 2019). Midway through 2020, he was dealt to the desert, ending up with the Diamondbacks (weird) and posting a 2.45 ERA in his new home in September.

This season, the ERA has ticked up tremendously into the mid-5.00s and Smith has found himself relegated to the bullpen (31 appearances, just 13 starts) while morphing into a swingman. Counterintuitively, the strikeouts are still there; Smith’s recorded 101 in 87 innings.

Whether he ends up a multi-inning lefty specialist or a starter moving forward, Smith has a relatively impressive profile and could likely be had for a song, even though he’s controllable through 2023. We could’ve opted to discuss D-Backs starter Merrill Kelly here, someone else we’re intrigued by the possible addition of. Kelly doesn’t miss bats, though, and there’s a much higher chance he’ll bust in the AL East — or, at least, provide mostly innings and nothing more.

We wouldn’t say no, but we find Smith more interesting.

2. Elieser Hernandez

Everyone and their mother is going to be trying to plunder the Marlins’ pitching riches this offseason, but Kim Ng and Derek Jeter’s braintrust isn’t going to be playing around. They know they’ve built an arsenal, both of prospects and at the big league level.

They also know — say it with me, now — you can never have enough pitching. These Marlins aren’t in desperation mode. They’re happy to keep everybody.

That said, Brian Cashman should be calling daily about putting together a package for Elieser Hernandez, who put it all together in 2020 and would likely have a much higher profile right now if not for a 60-Day IL stint in a lost season in Miami spent dealing with a quad issue.

After underwhelming partial seasons in 2018 and 2019, Hernandez thrived during the Marlins’ playoff run (!) in 2020, striking out 34 men in 25.1 innings across six starts, carrying a 3.16 ERA and 1.013 WHIP. The Venezuelan righty is only freshly 26 years old, and will be controlled by Miami — or, you know, the Yanks, if they pull the trigger — through 2024, and is first-year arb-eligible in 2022.

The Marlins won’t be suckered into anything here. The Yankees can’t underpay just because Miami employs Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers, Max Meyer, Sixto Sanchez (eh?), Pablo Lopez and more. But Hernandez is the name among these who can be pried loose, unless someone’s willing to sacrifice mega-capital and truly believes in Sanchez’s future viability, far from a certainty right now.

The Yankees might not be able to finish this off, but they should be at the front of the line.