Could a New York Yankees top pitching prospect be on the move? Only time will tell, but trade deadline season is upon us. They’ll have to get moving fast, because while they sat at the top of the American League East for a while, their recent skid slipped them out of first place. This means that they’ll have to address their weaknesses, which happen to be at the catching and reliever positions, as soon as possible.
That does not mean, however, that they should sell the entire farm to make a run at this year’s title; the Yankees have recently spat out star player after star player from their own system, including but not limited to the likes of Ben Rice, Cam Schlittler, and Will Warren. They also have a lot of highly regarded prospects still in the ranks, particularly in the pitching department, who could easily become stars in their own right within the next few years. If the Yankees are serious about improving their team whilst keeping some of their top talent, then they should be very, very careful about who they are willing to give away during this year’s trade talks.
On The Block
MLB.com released an article on Thursday naming each Major League team’s most valuable trade asset going into the deadline. Yankees top pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez was named the team’s most realistic and valuable prospect who could be dealt. New York’s front office has repeatedly stated their unwillingness to trade number one overall prospect George Lombard Jr, as well as fellow right-handed fireballer Carlos Lagrange, so Rodriguez is the obvious top prize for teams looking to make a deal with New York.
Rodriguez, interestingly, is listed above (no. 3) his teammate Lagrange (no. 4) in MLB Pipeline’s rankings of the Yankees’ top prospects. Lagrange, who is just a few months older than Rodriguez, has received more hype and attention from the media, mostly due to his large frame (6’7” and 248 pounds) and flaming velocity, which has consistently topped out at 103 MPH. Still, Rodriguez has the better stats, which is why the Yankees gave him a short stint in the Majors back in June rather than Lagrange.
Alternative Trade Pieces
Still, it would be a tough loss if the Yankees had to deal either of these two young pitchers. As an alternative, the Yankees could look a bit deeper into their prospect pipeline, particularly at their pitchers. Of the team’s top 15 prospects, a whopping 10 of them are pitchers.
Some, like Lagrange, are probably untouchable. Still, there are those like Bryce Cunningham, a 2024 second-round draft pick who had a solid first season in professional ball last year (2.82 ERA, 55 K’s) but has wildly underperformed this season. The 23-year-old has a 4.21 ERA and a 2-4 record this year in High-A, so it could be a good time to capitalize on a high draft pick who isn’t even New York’s first, second, or third best pitching prospect.
Then again, there’s also the question of Spencer Jones. New York has called up the 6″7′ outfielder multiple times this season, with Jones’ most recent outing in the Majors coming in June. In that span, he raised his OPS from a measly .421 in May to .808 in June, which could also be a good reason not to trade away the young phenom. Still, baseball is a business, and if the Yankees want to make some noise at the deadline and truly prepare to make a World Series run, they just might be forced to deal one of their most highly regarded prospects.
Coming Up
The Yankees do not want to part with Rodriguez, Jones, or any of their budding young stars, for that matter. But still, sitting in second place in the AL East with the trade deadline less than two weeks away, the Yankees cannot simply wait around for Aaron Judge and Max Fried to return to health: they absolutely have to make this deadline a busy one.
Main Photo Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
