How the Yankees and Mets could make a fair deal for Jacob deGrom
The Yankees certainly have the prospects to acquire Jacob deGrom, but what could they offer the Mets that would constitute fair value?
The idea that the New York Yankees and New York Mets can’t make a trade because they’re located in the same city is nonsense. The Yankees need a front line starting pitcher and the Mets need to revitalize their farm system. Swapping Jacob deGrom for a boatload of prospects could represent a win-win trade for both teams.
The devil here, per usual, is in the details. Fans of each New York team seem to believe their favorite franchise holds all the cards in negotiations. Mets fans believe the Yankees should ship Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar across town in any deal for their ace. Yankees fans believe they could be able to acquire deGrom without giving away any prospect above rookie ball. Needless to say, both of those suggestions are off base.
The truth is somewhere in the middle. Sandy Alderson has every right to expect a massive haul in exchange for deGrom. He’s still two and a half years away from free agency and he’s already one of the best pitchers in the game. His ERA of just 1.57 in 80.1 innings pitched make it obvious he’d be a perfect complement to Luis Severino atop the Yankees rotation.
Brian Cashman knows his team needs to acquire another ace to really gear up for a credible run at a World Series title. DeGrom may well be the best pitcher who gets close the market.
On the other side of the ledger, the Mets need help all over their roster. Even with deGrom having such a dominating season, they’re going nowhere. They currently sit fourth in the NL East and are 8.5 games behind the Nationals and Braves. At 29 years of age, deGrom isn’t the right age to help usher them into a new era of contention. As a result, dealing him for prospects makes absolute sense for the Mets.
The Yankees just so happen to have one of the best farm systems in baseball. That, combined with the young talent already at the major league level makes them a great trade partner for the Mets. The natural question is just how much should the Yankees offer to make a fair deal.
First, the Mets have to insist for a talented young player who is capable of contributing at the major league level right now. The Yankees almost certainly won’t include Gleyber Torres in any deal. Miguel Andujar, however, could be on the table. The Mets should insist he be at the centerpiece of any potential deal. Losing him would hurt the Yankees, but Brandon Drury is capable of coming back to the Bronx and providing solid production at third base.
As you might expect, including Andujar off the bat would greatly reduce the number of pieces the Mets might get back in a potential deal. In fact, it’s possible the Yankees would only be willing to include one other prospect in the deal. The more likely scenario, is that two more Yankee prospects would be headed the Mets way.
The inclusion of Andujar would, however, lower the quality of those prospects. Top prospect Estevan Florial would become out of the Mets reach if they get Andujar. Instead, Alderson would need to set his sights on a lower-quality prospect. Insisting on Justus Sheffield would be a reasonable ask. He’s pretty close to the majors already, but he only projects to be a middle-of-the-rotation starter. Sheffield can fill deGrom’s spot in the rotation pretty quickly, but it’s unlikely he’d ever develop into that sort of star.
To fill out the deal, the Mets could reasonably ask for one of the Yankees’ fringe regulars. Someone like Chance Adams or Tyler Austin could be enough to push the deal over the top. For the sake of this discussion, Adams would be the right prospect. He’d give the Mets another young arm to leverage in the future.
For the record, it’s very possible neither side would agree to this proposed deal. Exchanging Andujar, Sheffield and Adams would regarded as a heavy price by the Yankees’ front office. They may well regard Andujar as untouchable. No one could blame them for that protectionist philosophy.
Conversely, the Mets might be unwilling to move deGrom unless they can get a potential number one starter in return. This proposed deal wouldn’t include one. They might not see Andujar as a transcendent talent at the hot corner. If they don’t, by all means, they should hold on to their ace.
Next: 5 starting pitchers the Yankees can target via trade
In sum, trading Jacob deGrom for Miguel Andujar, Justus Sheffield and Chance Adams would be a fair deal for both the Yankees and Mets. It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen though. The odds are still stacked against the New York teams coming to an agreement on a big deal this season.