Considering the nonstop rash of injuries and a humiliating June swoon, it almost feels like a miracle that the New York Yankees are only two games out of first place.
That’s not to say that anyone associated with the Yankees should be happy with the team’s 53-43 first-half showing. If the first 96 games are any indication, then it’s clear that this year’s Yankees enter the second half needing several new faces, including a third baseman and another starting pitcher, ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.
Online trade pitches have regularly linked Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star third baseman Eugenio Suárez to the Yankees since spring training. Others have suggested the Yankees pursue Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen, a two-time Cy Young finalist enduring a career-worst season.
The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty has a slightly different idea. Kuty agrees that the Yankees and Diamondbacks make sense as trade partners, though he proposed the Bombers instead acquire veteran starting pitcher Merrill Kelly. The 36-year-old Kelly is 8-5 with a 3.34 ERA and a 113-33 K-BB ratio over 116 innings for the 47-50 D-backs.
“Trading for Merrill Kelly would be a tremendous win for general manager Brian Cashman and his front office,” Kuty wrote on Friday.
Yankees trade for Merrill Kelly in mock deal with Diamondbacks
Here’s what we believe a potential Yankees-Diamondbacks trade featuring Kelly could look like.
Seeing as Kelly is a rental pitcher who turns 37 in October, we’re not expecting him to cost too much on the open market. This shouldn’t be an instance where the Yankees must consider trading top prospects George Lombard Jr. or Spencer Jones for two-plus months of a No. 3 pitcher.
Pereira has become a forgotten man over the last two years, not seeing a single MLB at-bat since October 2023. Major League Baseball currently considers him the Yankees’ 12th-best prospect, and he’s seemingly nowhere close to cracking the big-league roster anytime soon.
The 24-year-old Pereira is batting .262 with 15 homers, 45 RBIs, and a .870 OPS at Triple-A. Arizona could play him immediately and take advantage of his outfield versatility; Pereira has played at least 13 games in all three outfield spots this season.
We’ll also include Danny Watson, if only to give the Diamondbacks another depth arm. Watson, 25 in October, has a 6.97 ERA and a 36-7 K-BB ratio in 31 innings at Double-A. The best-case scenario is that he eventually graduates to the big leagues as a solid, if unspectacular, middle reliever.
By no means is this a blockbuster trade, nor is it even an exciting one. However, it gives the Yankees another arm ahead of the playoffs and provides the Diamondbacks with two intriguing prospects, one of whom could instantly join the big-league club. That sounds like a win-win to us — and during trade season, a theoretical win-win is all you can really ask for.