The Yankees appear to be willing to go big-game hunting on the pitching trade market amid their team's struggles in that regard.
The New York Yankees have played uneven baseball since the All-Star break, although they are coming off a much-needed 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday to move to 57-48 on the year. There are no questions regarding the Yankees' status as a buying club heading into the trade deadline, but just how assertive they would be on the trade market remains to be seen.
One thing's for sure — the Yankees need to address their pitching woes. Their team ERA on the month of July to this point is a staggeringly high 6.13, and that is certainly not going to be a recipe for success for the rest of the regular season, let alone the playoffs.
To that end, it looks as though the Yankees are going to go big-game hunting on the trade market to address this need of theirs, particularly in the bullpen. As per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Yankees are “eyeing the best of a shockingly excellent group of relievers potentially available”, a list of names that includes Ryan Helsley, Emmanuel Clase, Cade Smith, Mason Miller, Jhoan Duran and David Bednar.
Yankees have to stay the course amid Aaron Judge's injury
Amid the Yankees' struggles, they have managed to at least win some ballgames by outscoring the opposition. That has been their win condition in the calendar month of July thus far. However, their best player, Aaron Judge, is set to miss some time with a flexor strain in his right elbow, landing him on the 10-day injured list.
The Yankees, especially amid Judge's absence, could certainly use some more late-game insurance after the addition of former All-Star closer Devin Williams hasn't exactly gone according to plan.
The St. Louis Cardinals have gone 3-7 over their past 10 games and they are now only one game above .500. Perhaps they do cave in and trade away Helsley. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians are eight games back of the division lead, and might decide to sell off Clase. But considering that Clase is under a team-friendly deal until 2028, that looks to be unlikely. Smith isn't likely to go either; he hasn't even hit arbitration yet.
In that same vein, both Miller and Duran are on very team-friendly deals, making it unlikely for the Athletics and Minnesota Twins, respectively, to shop them away. If anything, Bednar appears to be the most gettable trade target for the Yankees; he has one year of arbitration left and he's playing for a Pittsburgh Pirates team that has a 44-62 record.
