The Pittsburgh Pirates should not give in to the Yankees demands
MLB Pipeline has Torres as the number two prospect in baseball, behind Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Frazier has played enough in the big leagues (142 plate appearances) that he’s no longer on their list, but he was ranked 39th by Baseball America before last season.
If this deal gets done, Frazier will be the central player coming back, not Torres.
Along with Frazier, the Pirates would likely get one or two additional minor league prospects in return, or perhaps young major league starter Jordan Montgomery, who finished sixth in AL Rookie of the Year voting last season.
After re-signing CC Sabathia recently, the Yankees have a starting rotation of Luis Severino, Sonny Gray, Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, and Jordan Montgomery.
If they trade for Cole, one of those five would be out of the rotation and Montgomery would be the most likely choice.
Should this trade happen, the Pirates would have a surplus of outfielders, with Frazier joining Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco, and Andrew McCutchen?
Next: Derek Jeter, Marlins Man fiasco is bizarre
And that, of course, would bring us right back to where we were last season, another couple months of Groundhog Day, with Andrew McCutchen trade rumors swirling around The ‘Burgh once again.