Yankees and White Sox Including David Robertson in Jose Quintana Talks

The Yankees and White Sox are reportedly discussing reliever David Robertson as an additional piece in a potential Jose Quintana trade.

We heard about a week ago that the New York Yankees were discussing coveted starter Jose Quintana with the Chicago White Sox. Those talks may be continuing, and they have reportedly expanded to include reliever (and former Yankee) David Robertson. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale has the details:

While it’s unknown whether these negotiations are actively moving forward (Joel Sherman of the New York Post says no), New York’s supposed interest in Robertson is an intriguing wrinkle. They have shown a willingness to reunite with the right-hander before, putting in a waiver claim on their former closer back in August of 2015.

The conventional wisdom would say that the inclusion of Robertson in a potential deal would help lower the White Sox’s overall asking price on Quintana. D-Rob is signed for two more years and $25 million. That’s the way the Yankees used to frequently do business in trades: take on burdensome contracts to give up less in the way of prospects.

However, if Nightengale is to be believed, the Yanks are only interested in Robertson if Chicago covers a portion of his salary. That would conceivably eliminate any possible discount the Bronx Bombers could have received for taking his remaining money off the White Sox’s hands.

The acquisition of Robertson in addition to Quintana would help the Yanks address two areas at once. Quintana brings a top starter to a rotation that looks very shaky on paper outside of Masahiro Tanaka. The lefty has posted an 18.1 fWAR since 2013, good for seventh among all MLB pitchers. Quintana just finished up what was perhaps his best season yet, winning 13 games on a bad White Sox team along with a 3.20 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 3.62 K/BB ratio.

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Quintana’s ability to limit home runs (career 0.8 HR/9) makes him a potentially good match for the hitter’s paradise that is Yankee Stadium. He’ll be 28 next month, so he’s certainly young enough to fit into New York’s long-term plans. Best of all, he’s signed for up to four more seasons (if his 2019 and 2020 team options are exercised) at $37.85 million – a bargain for his performance level. It’s not hard to see why he’s nearly as prized as former rotation mate and fellow southpaw Chris Sale was before being shipped to Boston.

The bullpen isn’t exactly a pressing need for the Yanks after signing Aroldis Chapman, but bringing Robertson back into the fold would give them something of a “big three” again along with Dellin Betances. Obviously it wouldn’t be as formidable as last season’s version that contained Andrew Miller, but a strong trio nonetheless.

The 31-year-old Robertson had something of a down year by his standards in 2016; his 4.6 BB/9 and 10.8 K/9 were his poorest marks in years, but he did still manage to notch 37 saves to the tune of a 3.47 ERA. Putting D-Rob back into the mix would also take some pressure off Betances, who has faltered down the stretch in recent years due to overuse.

If the Yankees aren’t willing to assume all of Robertson’s contract, they are still looking at surrendering some legitimate prospects in a deal for Quintana. It’s hard to see how a trade gets done without someone like Clint Frazier going the other way. While that’s a big piece to give up, there could be some logic to such a move. The Yankees really like Frazier, but they have plenty of farm system depth now, and given Quintana’s age and contract status, he would be an addition made with more than just next season in mind.

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That said, although Robertson would further strengthen the pen, he’s not the greatest need. If his inclusion in the trade isn’t helping bring down the overall cost a bit, then it’s difficult to see how much the Yankees benefit in the grand scheme of things.

With clubs like the Pirates, Astros and Rangers also reportedly involved, it should be interesting to see how the Jose Quintana sweepstakes plays out.