The New York Yankees may prefer targeting Marcus Stroman in a trade over Madison Bumgarner.
After missing out on signing Dallas Keuchel, the New York Yankees had to place Domingo German on the injured list with a hip issue. James Paxton and CC Sabathia have already found their way to the IL. Chance Adams and Nestor Cortes Jr. are going to get opportunities to start, something I don’t think Brian Cashman thought was going to happen. Like last season, when the New York Yankees acquired J.A. Happ from the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees may look their way to Canada again for rotation reinforcements.
"Madison Bumgarner will be among the most prized trade targets in the league in the next month or two, but a source said the Yankees might not be enamored enough with Bumgarner to pay the necessary price. Other potential targets include Marcus Stroman and Mike Minor, or the Yankees could choose to go with their current crop of starters and hope Severino returns to form once he gets back on the mound."
The main issue is if/when Luis Severino will be ready to roll.
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"The wild card in the rotation, of course, is Luis Severino, who has missed the entire season with a right shoulder injury and isn’t expected back until sometime in July. Severino is the ace the Yankees need atop the rotation, but it’s unclear exactly when he’ll return and what he’ll look like when he does.“He’s the key to their whole season,” a second executive said of Severino. “If he’s the same guy he’s been, they don’t need to make a move. If not, they need to get a starter. The real question is whether they’ll even know that before the end of July.”"
The New York Yankees can’t really afford to wait around for Luis Severino. They really have to look at whatever they get out of him will be a bonus. Even if he and Jordan Montgomery come back, they may not be able to give them what they may expect. To help them, and even German when he comes back, he’s going to be on an inning limit.
I don’t think Mike Minor will be an option as long as the Texas Rangers are in contention, so it comes down to Marcus Stroman vs Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner is a free agent after this year, Stroman after next.
For Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees, it comes down to prospect cost. The Bumgarner cost may be exorbitant and Stroman, being from New York, may want to come home and pitch and cost less. If it’s going to cost someone like Estevan Florial for Bumgarner, even though the Yankees win now, it may not be worth it. They may be able to get Stroman for less, and that’s something that’s important.
The New York Yankees are going to need reinforcements for their pitching staff. The cost of that is what they have to weigh.