New York Yankees MLB Trade Rumors: Who Should the Yankees Pursue If They Fail to Acquire Gerrit Cole?
The New York Yankees have been targeting Pittsburgh Pirates ace Gerrit Cole in the past couple of weeks, but talks have recently hit a snag.
The Yankees may have to consider going after someone else if they can't finalize the deal to acquire Cole. Fortunately, the right-hander isn't the only starting pitcher who may be on the trade market this offseason and Sporting News' John Edwards has some interesting suggestions on who they should pursue.
Candidate number one is the Tampa Bay Rays' Chris Archer. This makes a lot of sense because the Rays aren't expected to compete next season after they traded All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria to the San Francisco Giants for promising infield prospect Christian Arroyo, veteran center fielder Denard Span, and minor leaguer pitchers Matt Krook and Stephen Woods.
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There is one caveat, though. The Yankees and Rays are division rivals in the American League (AL) East.
"It remains to be seen whether the Rays' front office will commit the cardinal sin of trading stars to division rivals, but if the Yankees can swing a deal for Archer, they should do it in a heartbeat," Edwards said in his column.
The next name on the list is the Arizona Diamondbacks' Zack Greinke. However, his huge contract is going to be an issue. The Yankees cannot absorb his contract if they want to go after Bryce Harper after the 2018 season.
Edwards also mentioned Greinke's teammate Patrick Corbin as a potential target and he thinks Corbin will be a good fit with the Yankees.
"Most intriguing regarding Corbin is his ability to generate ground balls: Corbin posted the 8th highest GB% and 10th lowest FB% in the majors in 2017. As MLB shifts more toward elevating balls and hitting home runs, the ability to generate ground balls becomes more and more valuable," Edwards stated.
The Atlanta Braves' Julio Teherán seems like an interesting option as well, but he's coming off a subpar season. If the Yankees can't acquire a proven starter like Cole, Archer, Greinke or Corbin, they can pursue Teherán instead.
