The New York Yankees have a starting rotation decimated with injuries, which has left them with only Masahiro Tanaka and Hiroki Kuroda remaining from the Opening Day roster. Ivan Nova is out for the season, and Michael Pineda is out until at least August and possibly longer.
In addition, ace CC Sabathia will not return from the disabled list in early July as anticipated. After a July 3 MRI, the Yankees have decided to send Sabathia to see Dr. James Andrews for further evaluation on Sabathia’s right knee. His status went from Possibly July to TBD according to the Yankees July 4 Injury Report.
With the Yankees ranked 9th in the American League in ERA at 3.98, they need some help. Among the current rotation of Tanaka, Kuroda, Vidal Nuno, David Phelps, and Chase Whitley, only Tanaka has an ERA under 4.00 (2.27). Kuroda is close at 4.08, but the other three are all much higher. That is understandable since they have little experience as Major League starters, but it will not get the Yankees back into postseason contention.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs rank eighth in the National League in ERA at 3.58, nearly a half run lower than the Yankees. Their top two starters, Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, both rank in the top 16 in the National League, and they are both available. Samardzija very recently rejected a five-year, $80 million contract extension, likely looking for something much more lucrative. Hammel is on a one-year, $6 million contract and is possibly another in a line of flips that the Cubs have signed in recent years only to trade away for prospects at the July 31 deadline.
These two Cubs pitchers have performed — and performed very well. Samardzija is only 2-7, but he has an ERA of 2.83 (10th), and 1.20 WHIP. Hammel is 7-5, 2.98 ERA (16th), and 1.01 WHIP. In this regard, it makes perfect sense for the Yankees to look at and go after either one or both. The Cubs would still have Jake Arrieta (5-1, 1.81 ERA, 1.01 WHIP in 11 starts) and Travis Wood to lead their rotation while they continue to rebuild.
One factor would hinder any talks between the two teams. The Cubs are looking for prospects, and the Yankees may not have much to offer. Their top prosepct, catcher Gary Sanchez, is 39th in MLB.com’s 2014 Prospect Watch. The Cubs are set at catcher for a long time with Welington Castillo now the starter and 2014 draft pick Kyle Schwarber already tearing through the Minor Leagues. New York’s next-ranked prospect is outfielder Mason Williams. The Cubs are well-stocked in the outfield as well: Junior Lake, Albert Almora, Jorge Soler, and Jacob Hannemann.
Possibly the best prospect the Yankees could offer the Cubs is the versatile Yangervis Solarte, who can play all over the infield and has a little Major League experience, but the Yankees may not want to part with him.
Still though, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman should find a way to make a trade happen. Samardzija and Hammel are two of the top pitchers available, and Cashman and the Yankees have a long history of making the right deadline moves. It does not look eminent that a Cubs/Yankees trade will happen this year, but it is a possibility that both teams should explore.
PHOTO CREDIT: David Banks, Getty Images
Follow Raymond on Twitter @RayBureau.
Like Raymond’s “Baseball Bureau” page on Facebook.