This Yankees-Corbin Burnes proposal could be trade deadline preview

The trade market might be an undesirable place to be right now because of the elevated asking prices and few names available, but just you wait until the middle of the summer when a handful of teams shift course, star players you would've never expected to become available, and the New York Yankees get their hands on an impact name.

Just kidding! Well, just about that last part, at least. The Yankees have made a living botching trade deadlines year in and year out. Even when it seemed like the Joey Gallo/Anthony Rizzo dual acquisition would save this team in 2021, it ended up being below-average.

Then again, 2024 is a different story. There's little room for error for Brian Cashman, who has already gotten to work by pulling off two of the biggest trades this offseason. Next up could be Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease, but we wouldn't count on it.

Shane Bieber feels like the only notable name within reach, especially after reports suggested the Milwaukee Brewers have become less inclined to trade Corbin Burnes. But that hasn't stopped anybody from talking about him or Cease.

In fact, MLB Network went as far to pitch a Yankees trade proposal for Burnes should the Brewers change their minds. While that might not happen, this can at least give us a potential preview of a trade deadline deal between the two sides.

This Yankees-Corbin Burnes proposal could be trade deadline preview

At that point, we'd have to imagine one of those three players will be either untouchable or completely removed from the deal since the price won't be high for two months of Burnes as opposed to a full season. Also, Peraza and Hampton could be important Major League contributors in 2024 and may be too intrinsic to the roster to move when late July arrives.

But maybe we can deduce what a Burnes deal might look like should this drag out into the summer. Pereira and Roderick Arias? Pereira and Brando Mayea? Jorbit Vivas? Brock Selvidge? Henry Lalane? There are a lot of names that would intrigue the Brewers if they enter some sort of a re-tool/rebuild mode. Either way, you get the framework.

Also, any number of those aforementioned players could crack MLB's Top 100 prospect list at the midseason mark. And the Brewers might view some other names differently after seeing them perform for 3-4 months in the minor leagues this upcoming season.

For right now, that trade seems relatively reasonable. We're not sure if the Yankees would do it because of the depth implications (and the fact Burnes is a rental), but that's probably a fair cost. And it provides us a good framework for what might happen if Milwaukee falls out of contention in June/July.