Coming into the offseason, the New York Yankees didn't have too much reason to be concerned about their starting pitching rotation. They had Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, Marcus Stroman, Carlos Rodon, and Nester Cortes among others at the big-league level. But, this offseason, the Yankees traded Cortes and signed Max Fried.
Recently, Cole and Gil have seen concerning arm injuries. Gil is expected to be sidelined for at least a month while Cole's elbow injury seems even more concerning. With these two scary injuries, the Yankees could look to swing a trade to bring in a reliable starting pitcher to headline their rotation.
If Cole is set to miss significant time, the heat could be turned up in the Bronx forcing the front office to make a move for a legitimate ace. While top prospect Will Warren has looked solid this year, New York could still look to bring in a proven arm at the big-league level, even if it costs a lot of prospects in return.
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3. RHP Sonny Gray, St. Louis Cardinals
The Yankees need to add a reliable arm for an affordable price. While adding an ace level starter would be the dream scenario, it just might not work out that way for the Bronx Bombers. Instead, they could look to add a veteran like Sonny Gray of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Gray, 35, has been an above-average pitcher for the last six years. Before that, he spent a year and a half with the Yankees. During that time, he struggled a bit more than he's used to, but the righty has turned his career back around since then.
Over the last few years, Gray has kept his ERA below a 4.00. But the Cardinals are aggressively rebuilding and Gray is an expendable piece of the roster. For that reason, the Yankees could likely land him for two or three top 30 prospects, but it wouldn't cost the team the prospect capital that the other two trades on this list would.
If the Yankees are looking for a reliable arm who they could acquire for relatively cheap, Gray could be the perfect pitcher to go after.
2. RHP Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners
If Gray is the reliable option for cheap, the next player on this list is the reliable option that could cost the Yankees quite a bit more in a trade. Seattle Mariners ace Luis Castillo has been a rumored trade candidate for the entire offseason as the Mariners look to add offense to their roster. Seattle has six big league caliber starting pitchers but only five spots in the rotation.
It's become a lot less likely that Seattle would look to trade Castillo though. Mariners' pitcher George Kirby is battling an injury right now, so there's a chance the price to acquire Castillo would be too much for the Yankees' liking. Still, if the Bronx Bombers are willing to part ways with big league ready bats like Jorbit Vivas, Spencer Jones, or a few other prospects, they could pull the righty from Seattle.
This might not be the most likely option, but it would certainly be a great move for New York to make. Their roster is loaded for the 2025 season and a trade like this would only make it better. Acquiring Castillo would potentially give the Yankees a top three of Fried, Cole, and the aforementioned Castillo when the postseason comes around.
1. RHP Sandy Alcántara, Miami Marlins
When looking at the trade market this coming season, there are a few intriguing options for the Yankees to look into bringing in. But among the group, Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara stands above them all. The righty is the clear top trade candidate on the market this season, at least in terms of pitchers.
The talented Marlins ace won the National League Cy Young award in 2022 after a dominant season where he looked like the best pitcher on the planet. He came back down to earth in 2023 and missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Now, the righty is back and as healthy as ever.
Acquiring Alcántara would be much more complicated than the other two stars on this list. The righty has a few years left on his contract while being the youngest and potentially the most talented pitcher on the market. New York would need to trade multiple top ten prospects including a guy like Spencer Jones or Will Warren.
It might seem like too much for the Bronx Bombers to give up, but having a pitcher like Alcántara would take the team to the next level. If they're forced to replace Cole, acquiring the Marlins ace would be the best option.