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Aaron Boone arguing
The New York Yankees will start their season on March 27, but will be without some of their top arms. Gerrit Cole, most importantly, is out for the season after undergoing surgery. The right-hander will need to be replaced, but there aren’t many options for the Yankees to pursue.
While the Yankees prospect pool isn’t what it once was, they still have pieces to make a trade. Whether that’s to land an ace is one thing, but the Yankees have a few prospects they could move in bigger deals if they’re willing to move on from players.
Among them is Zac Gallen, a right-handed starter with Cy Young stuff the Yankees will only hope will eventually be available.
Deesha Thosar of Fox Sports pitched the idea of the Yankees trading for him, questioning if the Arizona Diamondbacks would be willing to eventually pay him.
“It’s fair to question whether the Diamondbacks are comfortable paying Gallen the top market price after they signed Corbin Burnes to a six-year, $210 million contract. Gallen, 29, will hit free agency after this season and is expected to command around $200 million overall if he has a solid year.
“If the Diamondbacks fall out of contention before the summer, they could strongly consider moving Gallen at the trade deadline to reap the benefits of a prospect haul. By then, the Yankees certainly wouldn’t be the only suitors for Gallen, and Arizona would need an impressive offer to part with its longtime ace,” Thosar wrote.
Are the Yankees Looking?
The New York Yankees need arms.
However, this late into the offseason and spring training fully underway, there aren’t a slew of options for them to pursue. If anything, the Yankees could sign a free agent, but there aren’t any legit arms on that front like Gallen.
Brian Cashman acknowledged the need for an arm, adding, however, that there isn’t much out there for the Yankees.
“We’ll just evaluate what’s available, and this time of year, very little is available,” Cashman said a day after the Yankees announced that Cole would have season-ending Tommy John surgery, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “Normally, the more significant opportunities don’t exist until the Trade Deadline.
“When we’ve had these conversations many a time over, you hope you can withstand injuries and avoid injuries early from Spring Training up through the Draft, because going outside the organization is just that much more difficult to do. So we’ll rely on what we have, and we’ll explore what is limited available in the marketplace.”
Waiting until the deadline could be a disaster, but there’s a better chance of someone like Gallen being available then.
Cashman Understands Yankees Would Have to Trade Prospects
At this stage of the offseason, and in the campaign, the New York Yankees have no choice but to move prospects.
Cashman knows that’s the case, and also added the money factor.
“We’ve obviously got big commitments already,” Cashman said. “The inventory that is going to be available is going to be limited, and then there’s costs associated with those acquisitions. Some of it is in terms of prospect value. Some of it is in terms of money.”
Gallen, however, is only set to make $13.5 million this year before he gets his big payday in free agency next winter.
Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan
