Tarik Skubal to the Yankees?
Do not rule it out
Two-time defending Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal to the Yankees? Do not rule it out. I am reading and hearing more chatter that this is a trade that could happen.
More and more it is becoming obvious the Tigers are going to have to trade Skubal, as he enters his final year, before becoming a free agent. Detroit needs to get something for him and the Yankees matchup perfectly.
Any package would have to include top Yankees prospects George Lombard Jr. and lefty slugger Spencer Jones, both former number one draft picks. Yankees GM Brian Cashman has made it well known Anthony Volpe is their shortstop so there is no room for Lombard, whose father, by the way, just happens to be a Tigers coach.
There is no way Jones, an outfielder, can return to AAA with the Yankees, who are overloaded with outfielders now that Trent Grisham has returned. If the Tigers do not want Jones, then perhaps Jason Dominguez, which would break the logjam in the Yankees outfield.
New York would also have to throw in one of their top pitching prospects. Elmer Rodriguez or Carlos Legrange would have to be included, along with a fringe major league player on the roster.
The Yankees need a dominant ace the likes of the Red Sox Garrett Crochet and Skubal fits the bill. His acquisition would suddenly hand New York a dominant and balanced rotation of Skubal, Max Fried, Gerrit Cole, Cam Schlittler and pick your fifth starter.
Skubal would have to agree to a multiyear contract to make the deal worthwhile. This cannot be a Juan Soto one-and-done trade. I would not be surprised if it happens.
Do not buy Hal Steinbrenner’s claim of the Yankees not making a profit. If the Yankees are poor, I am Rockefeller. Steinbrenner knows he has to make a splash and his claims of poverty might be a ruse to throw off other clubs.
And should the Yankees get Skubal, it may just be the beginning. The Mets poached another one of their players, signing Yankees reliever Devin Williams to a three-year deal on Monday. The Mets say they are still in on their free agent closer Edwin Diaz but the Yankees just might swoop in and sign him. And the Bombers could also make a pitch for OF Kyle Tucker, whose left hand bat fits perfectly into Yankee Stadium.
Hal is well aware of the Yankees not winning a World Series title since 2009, the year before his father died. He knows the Yankees have to be the Yankees. And that means bold moves. Baseball has changed, despite the chatter of building through the farm system. The big spenders are going to be big spenders. Hal knows that if the Yankees are to succeed, they are going to have to spend like the Los Angeles Dodgers and not the Miami Marlins.
The Yankees silence since their ouster by AL champion Toronto in the ALDS has been deafening. Look for that to change.