4 blowup trades Yankees must consider if Aaron Judge is ruled out for 2023

Plunder the Bullpen: Michael King should be on the table

If Michael King's worst stretch of play since 2021 when the Yankees needed him most over the last month didn't slightly change your opinion on the right-hander, then maybe you were hypnotized by his fairly short stretch of consistent effectiveness.

King is good, there's no doubt, but he very much doesn't have a lengthy track record to unequivocally warrant him as the future of the bullpen. He owns a 3.60 ERA, 3.41 FIP and 1.20 WHIP in 93 career games. Solid. Not untradeable. Not a cornerstone.

He has two years of team control left and will undoubtedly carry heftier salaries in 2024 and 2025. His value will never be higher. The Yankees print high-end relief pitching. Why not capitalize on a market that's always desperate for pitching and then re-tool the bullpen, something that's been a constant positive for this team since Mariano Rivera's departure?

Same goes for everybody else. Wandy Peralta is in a contract year and he's probably not coming back. Send him out and get value. If you can get anything for Albert Abreu, do it. Clay Holmes has only one full year left of control and he won't be cheap in 2024 (he's making $3.3 million this year). Don't trade all of them, but at least two of those guys should be dealt to save some money and replenish some value elsewhere. The Yankees did this in a more extreme fashion back in 2016 and then immediately returned to the ALCS the next year.