The Yankees entered this offseason with a clear mission: bolster the rotation-both to cover for the injury concerns around Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón, and to future-proof the staff as contracts begin to expire over the next few seasons. There are really only two paths to do that: spend big in free agency, or dip into the farm system and swing a trade.
On paper, a blockbuster pitching trade might seem like an odd choice. The Yankees already have a solid foundation in place.
Assuming health, they’ve got Cole, Rodón, and Max Fried leading the way, with depth arms like Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Luis Gil in the mix. And let’s not forget the pipeline: Ben Hess, Carlos Lagrange, and Elmer Rodríguez are all knocking on the door.
This is a team built to have options-both on the mound and in the budget. So why give up someone like Spencer Jones or a chunk of that young rotation depth when they could just write a check for a proven arm like Tatsuya Imai?
And yet, the word around the league is that the Yankees are leaning toward the trade route. YES Network’s Jack Curry has said as much, and when Curry talks Yankees strategy, it’s worth paying attention.
But if the Yankees are serious about going the trade route, the landscape just got a whole lot more complicated-and expensive-thanks to the Orioles.
Baltimore just made a huge splash, acquiring right-hander Shane Baz from the Rays. The cost?
A haul. Outfielders Slater de Brun and Austin Overn, catcher Caden Bodine, right-hander Michael Forret, and a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick.
That’s not just a trade-that’s a statement.
Let’s break down what the Orioles gave up. According to the last update from MLB Pipeline, de Brun was the No. 6 prospect in their system.
Bodine was No. 10, Forret No. 11, and Overn came in at No.
- That’s four top-30 prospects, three of them in the top 11, plus a valuable draft pick-all for Baz, a pitcher with electric stuff but a 4.87 ERA and a track record that’s more promise than production.
Baz has always been tantalizing. He can miss bats with the best of them, but he’s yet to prove he can consistently go deep into games or avoid traffic on the bases.
The tools are there, but the results haven’t quite caught up. And yet, this is what the Orioles were willing to pay.
That sets a new bar-and not a low one-for teams like the Yankees who are eyeing similar arms.
Which brings us back to New York. If Shane Baz commands that kind of package, what does that mean for someone like Freddy Peralta, who has a more established big-league résumé?
Or Edward Cabrera, who’s flashed frontline potential and was once linked to Baltimore himself? How about Sandy Alcantara or MacKenzie Gore?
You can almost hear Brian Cashman grinding his teeth somewhere in the Bronx.
The Yankees have never been shy about spending when the moment calls for it. But when the trade market starts looking like an auction house, even a team with deep pockets and a loaded farm system has to pause.
It’s not that the Yankees can’t match what Baltimore gave up-it’s whether they should. That’s the real question now.
And with the price of pitching skyrocketing, it might be time to reconsider the free-agent route after all.