Yankees Might Be the Best Trade Partner for $39 Million Former Lefty All-Star.
Without ace Gerrit Cole, the New York Yankees starting rotation has performed excellently, keeping the team’s ERA in the second place in the major leagues thus far.
However, manager Aaron Boone stated that the Yankees are “hell bent on being a champion” following a disastrous 2023 campaign, as reported by the Associated Press. And one thing that playoff-caliber clubs just cannot seem to get enough of is trustworthy beginning pitching.
In light of this, if the Los Angeles Angels decide to deal starting Tyler Anderson before the deadline, they should view the Yankees as a prime trading partner.
Tyler Anderson Seems Ready to Provide a Trade Deadline Lift to a New York Yankees Team in the Playoffs
Anderson is having a fantastic 2024 season, with a 2.74 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 42.2 innings, following nine big-league seasons. The 32-year-old southpaw had a 2.57 ERA and 15 wins in 2022, making him an All-Star, but his performance declined the next year. Presently, it appears he has regained his groove and might be a valuable asset for a winning team, since the Angels are quickly becoming a seller.
According to Darragh McDonald for MLB Trade Rumors, “The Angels came into 2024 hoping to compete, despite losing Shohei Ohtani to free agency, but it’s not going well so far.” “They will be deadline sellers in the upcoming months, barring a miracle in the next few months.”
The sophisticated data do support the predictions made by skeptics that Anderson will regress from his present success. Despite his modest damage, his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of.205, the sixth lowest in MLB, and his top-11 strand rate raise the possibility that bad luck will finally catch up with him. However, if he continues to play well in the middle of the season, the Yankees may view him as an essential addition right before the postseason.
“Pitching is always in demand at the deadline, and the Angels might be able to eat some of his salary to get a deal done, even though his results will likely dip a bit as the year goes on,” McDonald continued.
The Yankees may see Anderson’s deal to be another compelling aspect. Following his All-Star 2022 season, he inked a three-year, $39 million contract with the Angels, which would expire after the following season.
The Yankees would probably need to give up some prospect depth in order to acquire Anderson if the Angels decide to rebuild before the deadline, but it appears like a trade could still be completed if they decide to hang onto highly valued outfielder Spencer Jones.
Jones was not included in trade talks for Dylan Cease during the summer, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. However, Anderson lacks Cease’s upside, and the Angels would probably be willing to trade Anderson for a less expensive player.
There Could Be Several Pitching Options Available to the New York Yankees on the Trade Market
Naturally, there need to be a lot of possibilities accessible if the Yankees are prepared to give up some youthful assets in order to bolster their pitching staff before the postseason. The Chicago White Sox, a different underperforming team, appear much more determined to offload than the Angels, and Nightengale predicted that they would make pitcher Chris Flexen available.
Nicholas Rome said for Empire Writes Back, “Acquiring Chris Flexen could be the perfect project for (Yankees pitching coach) Matt Blake, as we’ve seen him elevate plenty of relievers for the Yanks.” “Because Flexen is currently overworked as a starter, he could return to a relief role and become the Yankees’ long reliever.”
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