The New York Yankees were prioritizing Luis Castillo at the MLB Trade Deadline. Now that he’s going to Seattle, who are the top trade targets?
The New York Yankees weren’t exactly being secretive about their next priority before the Aug. 2 MLB Trade Deadline after they landed Andrew Benintendi. Next on the docket for Brian Cashman was landing Reds starting pitcher Luis Castillo, with reports indicating that he was their top remaining target.
However, the Seattle Mariners had other plans.
On Friday night, the M’s swooped in ahead of New York and landed the ace from Cincinnati in exchange for a haul of top prospects. Now, that leaves the Yankees with the necessity to shift their focus if they want to aggressively make a move to upgrade their pitching staff at the deadline.
Eyeing the trade landscape, these are the three trade targets that New York now needs to focus on before Tuesday’s deadline.
Yankees rumors: 3 trade targets with Luis Castillo off the market
3. Yankees could pillage Tigers for Tarik Skubal
Earlier this week, the Detroit Tigers basically put up a for sale sign in the dugout at Comerica Park as it was leaked that the club is pretty much open to selling anyone for the right price at the trade deadline, including a bright young star on the bump in Tarik Skubal.
At just 25 years old, Skubal has been impressive for the disappointing Tigers, so much so that it’s actually quite shocking that Detroit would be willing to part with him and not simply make him the lone protected asset during a fire sale.
This season, Skubal has a 3.67 ERA with a 1.163 WHIP to go with a 3.77 strikeout-to-walk ratio. More importantly, he’s improved every season that he’s appeared in the majors — which would be over the last three years as this is his third season in the show.
Because of his age and ascension as a stud on the mound, this could be a sneaky expensive option for New York. At the same time, though, if the Yankees want to not only bolster their World Series push in 2022 but for many seasons to come, then Skubal should very much be in play for the pinstripes.
2. Jose Quintana could be a great fit in the Yankees rotation
In the wake of Castillo landing with the Mariners, one of the immediate reports was that the Yankees, as expected, were trying to make a deal with the Reds. But soon after that came news that New York was quickly moving on and shifting its focus elsewhere. And one of the names thrown out by MLB insider Jon Heyman was Pirates veteran southpaw Jose Quintana.
Now 33 years old and playing with the fifth team of his career this season, Quintana certainly falls into a different category than Skubal. At the same time, though, he’s more of a short-term solution that New York could consider trying to add at the trade deadline.
After an up-and-down season last year spent with both the Angeles and Giants where his ERA was north of 6.40, Quintana has bounced back strongly with Pittsburgh as he’s posted a 3.70 ERA over 19 starts with a 1.284 WHIP. Put simply, he has been the best iteration of himself that baseball fans have seen in quite some time.
Not only would the Yankees be adding another strong veteran arm to the rotation but it could also be invaluable for the pitching staff as another lefty to mix in as Nestor Cortes is the only consistent piece who fills that role right now.
1. Frankie Montas is now the Yankees top trade target
Remember the note that Heyman mentioned Quintana was a potential target for New York at the trade deadline. As it turns out, it was part of a report that stated that Frankie Montas was now the top focus for the Yankees.
Frankie Montas is now the Yankees’ top starter target. But they are in on others, including Quintana.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 30, 2022
Whenever it came down to the two top trade targets on the board for New York to address their starting pitching, it was always Castillo and Montas who were mentioned. So it’s only natural that, with the Mariners swooping in and taking the former from them, they now switch their attention to the latter while he’s still available.
Montas has been a stud for the past two seasons with the Oakland A’s but has put forth his best effort yet in 2022, even with some minor injuries sidelining him for a start or two. In 19 starts for the year, he has a 3.18 ERA with a 1.127 WHIP. He’s been far better and, frankly, dominant than his 4-9 record on the year would indicate (thanks a lot, A’s).
Montas could be the same caliber of addition for the Yankees as Castillo would’ve been as he’s also young (just 29 years old) and in pristine form as of right now. He could be the push that takes New York over the edge in the postseason, meaning that they can’t afford to balk on a deal in the way they did with Castillo.