The New York Yankees signed left-handed pitcher Max Fried earlier this offseason which placed the southpaw atop the Yankees’ rotation next to Gerrit Cole. They also have Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon, Clark Schmidt, and Marcus Stroman to round out the rotation. New York also has a few prospect pitchers who could compete at the big league level.

It’s obvious the Yankees need to get rid of one of their big league pitchers and it’s likely to be Stroman who gets the ax. Stroman was left off the postseason roster in 2024 and he’s earning nearly $20 million per season. The Yankees likely won’t be looking for a huge haul of prospects in return. It would more so be a contract dump that brings them a few top-30 prospects in return. The perfect trade suitor is sitting right in front of them as well.

The Atlanta Braves struggled with pitching depth in 2024 after ace Spencer Strider went down with an elbow injury. While there were still a few great options on the Braves staff, the depth wasn’t there. To make matters worse, Atlanta has now lost two of its starters in free agency. Fried signed with the Yankees and Charlie Morton recently agreed to a deal with the Baltimore Orioles.

While Atlanta has some top pitching prospects, it needs to make a move for a big-league arm. Atlanta could deal a few fringe top-30 prospects to the Yankees to take Stroman off their hands. It would wipe Stroman’s money off the Yankees’ books and it would give Atlanta a pitcher it desperately needs.