Yankees urged to swing trade for two Diamondbacks’ stars

The New York Yankees have clear needs to address at the trade deadline. Third base and the starting rotation could both be focal points as the trade deadline inches closer.

The Yankees are without Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt’s season is over as well. While the team figures to get Luis Gil back next month, they could use another arm in the rotation. Third base has been a mess all season. Oswald Peraza is not going to be good enough to help the Yankees win a World Series.

Eugenio Suárez is the ideal fit for the Yankees at third base. He is a rental having a phenomenal season. He is the best bat available at this year’s deadline, but he may not be cheap. The Arizona Diamondbacks are going to want some young, controllable players in return. However, the Diamondbacks could also satisfy the Yankees’ pitching needs.

Both Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly will be free agents after the season. Gallen has been the better pitcher over the course of his career, but is having a down year. CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa urged the Yankees to put together a trade package for both Suárez and Kelly.

“I do think Suárez is likely to perform worse for his new team after the trade deadline than he has for the Diamondbacks simply because his home runs rate, particularly his home runs-per-fly-ball rate, is out of line with his last few years,” wrote Axisa. “Roughly one out of every four fly balls is leaving the yard for him this year. It was 15% from 2023-24. That said, the 15% HR/FB version of Suárez is still really good and would be an enormous upgrade for the Yankees at the hot corner.”

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Practically any close to average hitter would be an upgrade for the Yankees at third base. However, George Lombard Jr., the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect, figures to make his debut in the next couple of seasons and could be part of the long-term infield plan, so adding a third baseman with multiple years of control could end up blocking Lombard’s path to the big leagues. Lombard can play shortstop, second base and third base. With Volpe at shortstop, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. playing like a player the Yankees will want to keep around, Lombard could end up being the third baseman when ready.

As far as Kelly goes, he has a 3.32 ERA in 21 starts. A rotation led by Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Gil and Kelly could set the Yankees up for a deep postseason run. Ryan Yarbrough, who was pitching great as a starter before his injury, could be the team’s fifth starter after he returns.

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