With the potential loss of Michael Pineda, the Yankees find themselves in the unexpected position of having to retool their rotation on the run.
With the news that starting pitcher Michael Pineda is facing an extended period of action due to a torn UCL, the New York Yankees are now facing a crossroads in their promising season. While Pineda will seek a second opinion regarding his elbow, but Tommy John surgery has already been recommended.
Regardless of the outcome, it is safe to say that the Yankees’ plan for approaching the upcoming trade deadline could be drastically altered. And while no time is a good time to lose one of your most vital arms, the injury does come ahead of the July 31 trade deadline, which provides general manager Brian Cashman with a time window to assess his next steps.
Is there an internal option that can be called upon to fill in? Or could an injury of this magnitude force Cashman’s hand to make an addition outside of the organization? The Yankee GM has said that the team — which currently sits 3.5 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East — will be ‘careful buyers’, which leads one to think that a blockbuster deal may not be in the cards. However, could the promise of this pennant chase for an organization that has not advanced past the Wild Card game in any of the last three seasons, could potentially make them more aggressive than planned as well?
Here is a look at five options that could be in play to replace Pineda in the Yankee rotation for the stretch run.
5) Chance Adams
The time could be nearing for Adams to get the call to the majors, as a topper for a step-up season throughout the Yankee system. After making easy work of the Double-A level, posting a 1.03 ERA over six starts for the Trenton Thunder, the 22-year-old righty continued to excel at the Triple-A ranks as well, posting a 6-3 record along with a 2.50 ERA and averaging 10 strikeouts per nine innings for Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
Expectations were set for Adams to potentially see action in the Bronx this year entering the season, and his performance has fortified those beliefs. He would be an easy plugin option with plenty of upside, due to a polished three-pitch arsenal that has been bolstered by an improved change up. As with betting the house on any young arm, the chance that he does initially struggle in first taste of the majors could make laying this type of responsibility on a first-time promotion a riskier route than the competing Yankees want to take on. But for a team that has been better at adding young talent throughout its system than shipping it out in recent years, giving Adams a shot could be the best shot at staying the course they have been following, and not giving up too much to bring on an unexpected addition.
4) Luis Cessa
One of the first internal options the team will turn to will be the 25-year-old Cessa, who has been slotted in to make a start against the Minnesota Twins next Tuesday. It will be his fourth start on the year and seventh appearance overall for New York, working to a 4.18 ERA.
It would not be a surprise for the team to stick with Cessa if he shows well in the next few outings. He had a promising debut last season, posting a 4-4 record along with a 1.10 WHIP while making nine starts. Although he has been hit harder this season, with his opponent’s batting average climbing to .269 from .241 in 2016, he has been consistent in the minors posting a 3.80 ERA over 12 games.
While the decision to go with Cessa is far from the most exciting move, it comes at the least expense. He would not require a move involving the 40-man roster, as Adams would. If Cessa can make the next step with this opportunity, it could also provide a cost-controlled option moving into 2018, as the team faces multiple openings in the rotation with CC Sabathia in the last year of his contract adding to the potential opt-out of Masahiro Tanaka and injury to Pineda.
3) Jaime Garcia
If Cashman truly wants to put out as little as possible, but still get back a veteran presence, a call to Atlanta could be in order. After being dealt from the St. Louis Cardinals in the offseason, the veteran lefty has alternated between brilliant and confounding for the Atlanta Braves this summer. Across April and May, he allowed only 22 earned runs over 62.1 innings, good for a 3.18 ERA over 10 starts. Yet since June 1, the bottom has fallen out for Garcia, has he allowed a 6.96 ERA while letting up nearly eight hits per six inning outing.
As a result, he enters the second half as the owner of a 2-7 record, along with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. And while the inconsistent outings from Garcia could scare away many teams, he does have an expiring contract and is capable of being brilliant at times. As recently as 2015, he carried a 2.43 full season ERA in St. Louis, the second time in his career he posted a season ERA underneath 3.00.
In regards to being a fifth starter, low-cost trade option, Garcia is not a bad way to go for the Yankees. If he works out, he can certainly be a very solid option down the stretch that will not carry a high prospect cost in return. If he cannot shake off his recent struggles, there is always the option to turn to Adams or Cessa still. All things considered, he could be worth a flier.
2) Sonny Gray
Alright, let’s have some fun for a second. Let us say that Cashman is sitting up late, watching the wheels of the trade deadline spin in its various real and rumored directions. And then he takes a glance over at the standings and sees his primary advisories in Boston in route to another victory which continues to keep his Yankee club at arm’s length away from gaining ground in the AL East. The idea of this finally pushes Cashman out of his comfort zone of internal and second-to-third tier dealings to upgrade his Pineda-less rotation, and he makes a call out to Oakland to gauge terms on what Sonny Gray’s going rate is… and he pulls the trigger on bringing the long rumored righty to the Bronx.
It would be a splashy move, but it could also be the best possible one for this team to make. Although they would never entertain moving over the injured, yet still highly valuable Gleyber Torres to make it happen, nor would the likes of Clint Frazier, Jorge Mateo or Justus Sheffield be very high on the list of desirables to ship out, this is Oakland we are talking about and they are always down to take a large purse in exchange for one high value asset. Something could be arranged between the current Major and minor league stockpile without greatly compromising the Yankee structure.
Gray has shown he rehabbed from the various maladies that sabotaged his 2016 season, and would be a massive upgrade to a Yankee rotation that was already on unsteady ground prior to Pineda’s injury. The addition of Gray would give them a presence to pair with Luis Severino and build around over the next two seasons, at least.
And if they fall short of taking the East still, and the find themselves in the Wild Card play-in game again, Gray could be the ace-caliber arm that routinely decides the direction those games go in.
1) Jeremy Hellickson
If there is a perfect external fit that could had in this scenario, it is Hellickson, who could be readily acquired from woe-begotten Phillies. With him a certainty to leave via free agency after the season, Philadelphia likely take what they could get back in exchange for the veteran righty, although they could be in position to run the price up some on New York considering the position they now find themselves in.
Of all the pitchers that could be had in the upcoming weeks, Hellickson is likely the best fit of those that are definitely available. If Cashman is able to swing a deal for Hellickson, he would find an arm that can keep them at roughly the same level as where Pineda operated at. Although his 2017 returns have been more up and down than a year ago, when he won 12 games with a 3.71 ERA, Hellickson is a proven veteran arm that has experience in the AL East, having spent the first five years of his career in Tampa Bay.
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With a superior defense behind him and the invigoration of pennant chase as well (he has not pitched in the postseason since 2013, when he worked one inning), Hellickson could easily pick up his pace of play with a team such as the Yankees. In addition, he could also be a great re-sign candidate for the team going forward as well.