Orioles-Rays trade just raised pitching price to perilous place amid Yankees inaction

The New York Yankees' stated offseason goal involves adding top-level pitching to both patch over Gerrit Cole's/Carlos Rodón's injuries and keep their rotation sustainable through 2028 and beyond, as contracts expire. There are two ways to do that: spend money and money alone, or surrender assets.

A blockbuster pitching trade seems like the sillier way to go about things. After all, the Yankees certainly could use a starter, but only so they can match the modern standard of rolling eight or nine deep. Their healthy rotation includes Cole, Rodón, Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Luis Gil, and features several prospects waiting just below the surface, like Ben Hess, Carlos Lagrange, and Elmer Rodríguez. They're the Yankees. They're supposed to have finite talent resources and unlimited financial resources. Dealing Spencer Jones and a few pieces of their rotation depth is more appealing than signing Tatsuya Imai/"insert $28 million annual salary here"?

But, hey. That's their prerogative. Jack Curry swears any Yankees addition is more likely to come via trade rather than the open market, and we're inclined to believe him.

In that case, the perilously heavy nuclear trade package the Orioles just surrendered to the Rays in exchange for high-upside righty Shane Baz (whose production never matches the idea of him) will upend the Yankees' plans tremendously.

Yankees still want to make a pitching trade after Orioles-Rays Shane Baz deal? Ok...

That sound you hear is Brian Cashman tearing a phone book in half thinking about what one year of Freddy Peralta costs now.

Not like we were into Johan Oviedo or Sonny Gray, but imagine being the Red Sox right now, then watching Baltimore and Houston pay through the nose for Baz and Mike Burrows? Mercy.

MLB Pipeline's prospect lists famously haven't been recalibrated in recent months, but ... the last time they were updated, Slater de Brun ranked sixth in the system, post-Draft. Caden Bodine was 10th. Michael Forret was 11th. Austin Overn was No. 30. The O's traded all that, and a top-tier draft pick, in exchange for Baz's tantalizing strikeout stuff and 4.87 ERA. Don't we know what Baz is by now? Don't we know he misses bats, but only in four-inning spurts while dancing around crowded bases? Have we pivoted to that being baseball's most valuable commodity again, paired with years of control?

Regardless, this trade is terrifying for the Yankees' potential pursuit of a similar pitcher with more of an MLB track record, Edward Cabrera (who, once upon a Winter Meetings, was an Orioles trade target), as well as more established names like Sandy Alcantara and MacKenzie Gore. Is it too late to just try free agency instead?