The New York Yankees will likely look to bolster their pitching staff ahead of the trade deadline.
The Yankees could look to add a starting pitcher, as well as help in the bullpen. New York acquired Devin Williams this offseason to be the team’s closer. However, he has struggled and lost the role.
With that, MLB analyst Derek Levandowski of Pinstripe Territory believes the Yankees should look to trade for Felix Bautista of the Baltimore Orioles.
“I think even if you have to pay a little bit of a premium in-division, I think he is someone you have to go out and get,” Levandowski said. “To say trades can’t be made in division, just a reminder, the Yankees have done this before… I can see this trade happening, if you are in dead last, you are not super close to winning the division, you have work to do and this is one I think would be a good fit.”
Bautista is a star closer who throws hard and can cement the Yankees’ bullpen. Baltimore is also dead last in the AL East, so they will likely be sellers.
However, Bautista is making just $1 million this season and has two more years of club control. With that, it likely would cost quite a bit in prospects to get the deal done.
Bautista is 0-1 with a 4.02 ERA in 16 games, including 7 saves this season with the Orioles.
Williams Says It Doesn’t Matter After Losing Yankees’ Job
Williams entered the season as the Yankees’ closer, but he struggled and lost the job.
Since being removed from the job, Williams has pitched better, but he says it still doesn’t matter if he gets the closer’s job back. Instead, he’s just focused on pitching well every outing, regardless of what inning it is.
“It doesn’t matter right now,” Williams said to the New York Daily News. “It doesn’t matter.”
After removing Williams from the closer’s role, the Yankees turned to Luke Weaver. Weaver has pitched well, but he is confident Williams will be back as the closer and be dominant as ever.
“Devin’s the man. I mean, he is obviously one of the best in the game — There’s adjustment periods with anything,” Weaver said. “You’re just trying to minimize mistakes. Sometimes they are completely uncontrollable and they stack up and you’re trying to stop that momentum and sometimes they’re minimal – we can make those mistakes quick. Sometimes we get lucky and sometimes we don’t, so with all that being said, it’s awesome to have him do his thing.”
Weaver is 1-1 with a 0.40 ERA in 21 games, including 7 saves this season.
Yankees GM Noncommittal on Trades
New York is one of the best teams in the MLB, but Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is noncommittal on making any moves.
The Yankees have a need at third base as well as pitching, but he says it’s hard to make trades at this point in the season.
“If we can improve on things, we’ll try to do that, as well,” Cashman said… “It’s hard to make improvements this part of the season.”
The Yankees are 30-20 and atop the AL East.
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Analyst Urges Yankees to Trade For Rivals Star Closer to Replace Williams