Yankees Rumors: NYY circling remarkably expensive starting pitcher trade with Marlins

On Sunday afternoon, New York Yankees insider Chris Kirschner - in collaboration with Ken Rosenthal - put out the type of standalone article that usually means, "Sure, this is just a rumor for now, but...it's moving closer."

To anyone out there penalizing the Yankees for two offseason months of inaction, their next move might nuke a good deal of the depth they've been sitting on. According to Kirschner/Rosenthal, the Yankees and Marlins are discussing a trade for starting pitcher Edward Cabrera. For what it's worth, Barstool Sports' Eric Hubbs has independently heard the Yankees are zeroing in on Cabrera, and breakout outfield prospect Dillon Lewis/burly righty Ben Hess would be included in the package.

Cabrera, once upon an offseason, was a Baltimore Orioles trade target at the Winter Meetings. Instead, the Orioles ultimately pivoted to Tampa Bay Rays righty Shane Baz, surrendering a costly four-prospect package that we thought tipped the scales too far for Brian Cashman to comfortably acquire the starting pitching depth he purportedly coveted.

Instead, he seems to no longer be hesitant, pushing hard for the electric right-hander who's controlled through the 2028 season, and is coming off a career high 137 2/3 innings pitched. Inconsistency and injury annoyances are Cabrera's biggest bugaboos. Still, his price should be exceedingly high, given the quality of his stuff and the amount of team control that comes attached.

Yankees zeroing in on trade for Miami Marlins starter Edward Cabrera

Cabrera, who used to struggle with command and control to a far greater extent, is on an upward trajectory now, lowering his WHIP from 1.44 in 2023 to 1.37 in 2024 to 1.23 last season. He struck out 150 men with a 3.53 ERA/3.99 xERA, and made hay off his excellent breaking ball (94th percentile breaking run value/88th percentile offspeed run value). That very much fits the Yankees' preferred mold.

You would think that, after the Orioles and Astros ratcheted up the price of pitching trades last month (Baz, Mike Burrows), the Yankees would have to pay through the nose here and surrender Jasson Domínguez or Spencer Jones. A Cabrera trade would seemingly indicate that a Cody Bellinger reunion is becoming closer to a certainty, allowing the Yankees to move forward on the remainder of the plan. Of course, if the package is centered around Lewis/Hess, we haven't learned much of anything about the way the offseason's going to play out from here (and we'd be surprised).

Maybe pair Cabrera with a Marlins reliever like Anthony Bender, if you're bound to pay spectacularly anyway?