Power ranking the Yankees' 5 best Clarke Schmidt replacement trade targets

Just as it seemed like the New York Yankees' starting rotation was starting to come together, the team was dealt its most devastating blow since losing Gerrit Cole in spring training to Tommy John surgery. With Clarke Schmidt now on the shelf with the same ailment, starting pitching once again shoots up the Bombers' trade deadline shopping list.

In the interim, top prospect Cam Schlittler will get the call to take Schmidt's place, but the Yankees simply cannot rely on a rotation of Max Fried and Carlos Rodón at the top (good!), and Will Warren, Marcus Stroman, and a rookie (not so good!) to carry them through for an extended period of time.

Encouraging Luis Gil news aside, the Yankees will absolutely need to add another starter at the deadline, and given who Schmidt is as a pitcher, not any old hurler will do.

In order to rank the Yankees' options, a few factors need to be considered. The Yankees don't need an ace, which is a good thing because there might not be one on the market, but they need a more-than-competent number three in order to match Schmidt's production and upside. Given how late in the season Schmidt's injury occurred, it'd be helpful if the trade acquisition wasn't just a mere rental. Finally, the starter in question must be a good fit for Yankee Stadium (extreme flyball pitchers need not apply).

Power ranking the Yankees' five best starting pitching trade targets

1. Edward Cabrera - Miami Marlins

By raw stats, Miami's Edward Cabrera might be the closest facsimile to Clarke Schmidt available on the trade market. Schmidt's season is done with 14 starts, 78.2 innings, a 3.33 ERA, and a 3.90 FIP on his ledger. Cabrera has made 15 starts, logged 78.1 innings, and posted an ERA of 3.33 with a 3.88 FIP.

With a power sinker that averages 96.5 miles per hour and has yielded a healthy 46.7% ground ball rate and a better-than-average 24.5% K-rate, Cabrera starts to look like a perfect fit. The icing on the cake is that he doesn't hit free agency until 2029, and the Marlins have been a willing trading partner in the past.

There is one considerable red flag, though. Cabrera's been plagued by blister issues in the past, and has had other injury woes in his young career that have prevented him from ever reaching the 100-inning plateau in a season. The worst thing the Yankees could do is take a big swing just to see that newly acquired starter miss significant time - and, surprise, surprise, he left Friday night's start with a trainer. At the same time, Cabrera checks more boxes than most.

2. Zac Gallen - Arizona Diamondbacks

Talent-wise, the 29-year-old Zac Gallen might be the best starter to hit the trade market if Arizona decides to sell. With three top-10 Cy Young finishes and an All-Star selection on his resume, there's no denying his talent.

The problem in 2025 has been his production. Gallen has made 19 starts on the year and is sporting a 5.15 ERA. Still, when he's on, he's on, as the Yankees saw firsthand this season. With an 0.69 ERA and 19 Ks in his first two July starts, there's some hope that he could be turning the corner.

In the best-case scenario, Gallen would give the club a third ace behind Max Fried and Carlos Rodon, but there are some hurdles besides the production questions. Gallen has made it clear that his preference would be to stay in Arizona and have his team build towards making a second-half run, something that is a realistic possibility.

Furthermore, the Yankees haven't always had luck importing talented pitchers from smaller markets, especially if they're reluctant about moving on. See Gray, Sonny; Vázquez, Javier; and Weaver, Jeff as just a few of the far too many examples.

Lastly, there's Gallen's impending free agency to contend with. Even with a poor first half, he's looking at a rich contract in the offseason, especially if he pitches like his old self down the stretch. That complicates his ability to fill in for Schmidt again next year.

3. Mitch Keller - Pittsburgh Pirates

Mitch Keller is quickly becoming one of the hottest names on the trade market, with new teams being rumored to be interested in him on a near-daily basis. There's some good reason for that, as Keller is putting together the best season of his career with a 3.58 ERA over 113 innings and 19 starts.

Whichever team trades for Keller will be taking on his contract as well, which runs through 2028 at a $15.4 million AAV, a number that's neither a bargain nor unreasonable, given the state of the free-agent pitching market. For the Yankees, he'd scratch the mid-rotation starter itch in Schmidt's absence while also serving as a piece to lengthen the rotation in future seasons once Schmidt returns.

Keller's "fill the strike zone" philosophy that he learned from Max Scherzer could be a problem for the Yankees, however. Keller relies an awful lot on his defense with a mediocre 18.9% strikeout rate. Given the shakiness of the Yankees' fielding at times, this might not be a match made in heaven (unless their current alignment holds up and/or they find the third baseman of their dreams this summer).

4. Sandy Alcantara - Miami Marlins

Sandy Alcantara is the ultimate boom-or-bust option. After unanimously winning the NL Cy Young award in 2022, Alcantara went down in late 2023 with a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery and cost him the entire 2024 campaign. His return to action has featured a putrid 7.01 ERA over his first 17 starts.

Even before his injury, there were some worrying signs of regression. Alcantara's ERA in 2023 nearly doubled from his stellar 2022, going from 2.28 to a more pedestrian 4.14. Now, his velocity has dipped from a blazing 98.1 miles per hour to 97.5 miles per hour. That's still plenty of heat, but a drop off of that magnitude is still significant.

More importantly, Alcantara's control has faltered with his strikeouts decreasing from 8.15 K/9 in 2022 to 7.01 K/9 this season, while his BB/9 has increased from 1.97 to 3.66.

Still, if the Yankees believe they can get him back on track, the sky is the limit, given his talent. He's under contract for 2026 for $17.3 million and has a $21 million club option for 2027, which makes him a rather expensive roll of the dice.

5. Seth Lugo - Kansas City Royals

On the surface, 35-year-old Seth Lugo might be the best option, should the Royals make him available. Beginning his career with the crosstown Mets, he's proven he can handle pitching in New York (though, to be fair, the Yankees are a different animal entirely when it comes to media scrutiny).

On top of that, he has a similar career arc to former Yankee Michael King, beginning as a starter before transitioning to a multi-inning relief role, and then shifting back to the rotation to emerge as one of the best starters in baseball. Lugo was the AL Cy Young runner-up last season and owns a 2.67 ERA so far this year.

There's some cause for concern, though. Lugo's hard-hit rate is near the absolute bottom, ranking in the 11th percentile. His barrel rate (27th percentile) and average exit velocity (14th percentile) are also in the cellar. He rarely gets hitters to chase (12th percentile) and hardly gets any whiffs (22nd percentile). All that could be a recipe for disaster, as his 4.54 expected ERA indicates.

Lugo's likely to decline his $15 million player option as well in the offseason, and likely someone will give him a big contract that the Yankees would be wise not to match, meaning he wouldn't be a solution to replace Schmidt beyond the 2025 stretch run.