The New York Yankees lost Gerrit Cole in spring training. They have also not seen Luis Gil take the mound yet. The team could swing a trade to add a star to the rotation.
The Yankees did sign Max Fried in the offseason, hoping for him to join Cole and Gil. However, Fried is the only one of the three who has pitched this year, and all of the pieces around him seem to be falling apart. Marcus Stroman cannot be relied on to make an impact, and the Yankees have already removed Carlos Carrasco from the rotation.
The Yankees never made a real move to replace Cole, but rather tried to fix the issue from within. However, as the trade deadline approaches, more players should become available. CBS Sports' R.J. Anderson tabbed Sandy Alcántara of the Miami Marlins as a fit for the Yankees.
"Alcantara appeared to be the league's most obvious top trade candidate coming into the season as he returned from Tommy John surgery," wrote Anderson. "His velocity is back and he's generating plenty of ground balls, but his command hasn't been there and his pitches are finding the barrel too often. Teams will have to assess not only what they think of his chances of righting the ship in-season, but how much they're willing to part with in order to play the odds."
Alcántara signed a five-year, $56 million deal before the 2022 season. In 2022, he won the National League Cy Young Award, but things have not been great since. He struggled in 2023 and missed all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. This season, he has an 8.04 ERA and has allowed a league-leading 42 earned runs.
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Alcántara has been far from great. However, perhaps a change of scenery and pitching in a rotation that has World Series aspirations could quickly change things. He is a two-time All-Star, and, if he can turn things around, would be a great addition to Gil and Fried come October.
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