MLB insider's Nationals trade deadline nugget should intrigue Yankees fans

If the Yankees are looking for relievers at the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline, they might have to get out their hair clippers.

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal made his regularly scheduled appearance on the Foul Territory stream on Tuesday afternoon, and spun off a Yankees-Michael Kopech question into a slightly more generalized description of their chase.

"The Yankees and Kopech? Sure. They're going to be looking at all of the relievers," Rosenthal summarized. "Kopech does have strikeout stuff, that's what they're looking for. He has not had a great season, so ... I don't know how they view him right now."

Hmm. Sounds like a no.

Predictably, the Yankees are also interested in Marlins left-hander Tanner Scott, who will be traded and probably should be soon. So are "all other teams looking for bullpen help," though, per Rosenthal. While there's a chance the Yankees could win a 10-team battle for Scott, it seems unlikely they'll be the highest bidder.

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal dissuades Yankees-Jazz Chisholm rumors on Foul Territory, links NYY to bullpen

Oh, and for good measure, Rosenthal also physically revolted against the idea of the Yankees dealing for the very available Jazz Chisholm, and host Scott Braun deflected Gleyber Torres' inclusion in a potential package before the question even reached Rosenthal, like Novak Djokovic swatting at a volley dismissively.

Far more intriguing was how Rosenthal started his segment: discussing the Nationals, who are willing to not just to sell off rentals (like Dylan Floro for the 'pen), but also controllable arms like Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan. This has quickly proven to be true; Harvey was dealt Saturday night to the Kansas City Royals, who wisely jumped the line. Finnegan remains very available, perhaps even more so than when Rosenthal first spoke.

The Yankees' ability to pry ascending bullpen arms loose likely decreased a few weeks back when Everson Pereira underwent surgery, moving him from "headliner" to "secondary piece." Still, New York should be all over Finnegan, and they'd be well served by jumping the line while everyone's calling Miami.

Harvey felt like a natural fit before the Royals pounced. His ERA leapt up to 4.40 following a disastrous outing against the Mets on July 1, but his FIP still sat at 3.28, and he's excellent at inducing chases (85th percentile), a skill the Yankees decidedly lack. Oh well.

Finnegan, 32 years old and also controllable through next season, has maintained a remarkable WHIP below 1.00 (0.964, as of this writing). His elite fastball velocity (93rd percentile) and K percentage (77th percentile) stand out, but watch his hard-hit rate (an icy 3rd percentile). When he gets hit, he gets hit hard. Luckily, it hasn't happened too often during his breakout season.

Add in Floro, who'll cost a "non-superstar rental" package (which will likely be more underwhelming than early projections), and the Yankees and Nationals match up much better than New York and the Fish.

Unless they want Gleyber Torres! Which they don't. But it never hurts to scream it out loud.