MLB Trade Deadline: 5 young players the Yankees could trade for an ace

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 18: Clint Frazier #77 of the New York Yankees follows through on his grounder hit in an MLB baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 18, 2019 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Yankees lost 2-1. Teams wore camouflage caps and accessories to honor the military today for Armed Forces Day. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) /

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CLEVELAND, OH – JULY 07: Deivi Garcia #64 of the American League Futures Team pitches during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Progressive Field on Sunday, July 7, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

3. Deivi Garcia

Could a trade of one diminutive hurler for another be in the works? The Yankees have their eyes on Toronto Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman, who measures just 5-foot-7 and 180 pounds, and have their own highly-touted starter who checks in on the smaller side in right-hander Deivi Garcia. The 20-year-old is 5-foot-9 and weighs only 163 pounds. He could be mistaken for Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, who was no more than 170 pounds soaking wet at the start of his career.

Garcia is extremely polished at the age of 20, and has already made it to Triple-A. This is even more impressive considering he was still pitching at the Rookie level in 2017. Garcia made only 14 starts at Single-A last year before being promoted to Trenton.

The meteoric rise through the ranks has been well deserved for Garcia. He was 5-4 with a 3.04 ERA in 15 starts and 74 innings last season and struck out 105 while walking only 20 and allowing only five home runs. He has picked up right where he left off, posting a 5-5 record with a 3.17 ERA through his first 16 starts this year while striking out 14.6 per nine.

For Garcia, the calling card is his high spin rate fastball that can touch 96 mph. He backs it up with another high-spin offering, his curveball, which he is working on locating in the strike zone as he reaches the more advanced levels. The biggest concern here is durability, given his size. Even so, with a dominant fastball-curveball combination that is already being used to pile up strikeouts, Garcia’s floor is still late-inning reliever.

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