Yankees should buy low and trade for the next Luke Weaver

With far too much ink already spilled around the same trade targets and free agency fixes, it's time to dive a little deeper and do some detective work into the Yankees' favorite passion: saving struggling starters and turning them into bullpen weapons.

And, if Luke Weaver can be used as the model, the more slender, the better.

Luckily, there's another slim reaper hanging out on Cleveland's depth chart who's lost the footing he found during his rookie season in 2020: Triston McKenzie. Is he still in the Guardians' plans? Is he in their lab? Or is the Brooklyn native and childhood Yankee fan available for the right price -- a price that is likely lower than ever as Cleveland cleans out their attic.

McKenzie went 3-5 with a 5.11 ERA in 16 starts last season, a far cry from his 11-11, 2.96 ERA, 190 Ks in 191 1/3-inning 2022 campaign. His 2023 elbow issues limited him to just four tough big-league starts, and he struggled to find his footing again last summer, leading Cleveland prognosticators to place him seventh on their rotation depth chart after the Luis Ortiz addition.

Seems like a perfect opportunity for the Yankees to step up, offer a minor-league bat or two, limit his workload from the jump, and try to recapture his unique brand of magic? Just watch as hitters flail at his breaking ball. There's always been something head-to-toe impressive about that curve, and the velocity might play up in short spurts as he looks to get his spark back.

Yankees should pry curveball artist Triston McKenzie in trade with Guardians for bullpen

Never count the Yankees out on pursuing Cleveland pitchers, given the organization's history of success (and history of employing Matt Blake).

Of course, if Cleveland gives up on an arm, that may be cause for alarm. In McKenzie's case, though, his regression has come from injuries sapping his strength, as well as a non-linear recovery. Perhaps a move to the bullpen will keep him fresh as he works his way back into his rotation destiny. Maybe it won't match whatsoever, and the strain of pitching four times a week will put his right arm under further duress.

Still, nobody was more lost and off the baseball map than Weaver, when the Yankees acquired him. He was nine years removed from being selected in the first round by the Cardinals, and it had been four years since he'd posted a 2.94 ERA in 12 starts with Arizona, his last true brush with success. He'd spent 2023 with the Reds' and Mariners' organizations before the Yankees, falling out of the postseason race, took a chance on him ... as a starter.

McKenzie doesn't have to look far to see a path back to relevance, and the Yankees should roll the dice here. Given their financial constraints elsewhere, they'll have to. The Guardians are looking for cost-controlled players at every position, and just traded away their expensive second baseman, Andrés Giménez. Is there room for a McKenzie-for-Oswald Peraza swap while Cleveland waits for No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana to take over?