MLB Insider: Yankees Won’t Have to Give Up Top Infield Prospects to Trade For Pitching Help

Sounds like the Yankees can trade for one of Oakland's top starters while still holding on to Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza.

The Yankees are one of several teams in the mix to trade for Oakland Athletics starting pitchers Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas, who are available on the block.

In an effort to slash payroll, Oakland has been in full-on fire sale mode this offseason, parting ways with manager Bob Melvin, first baseman Matt Olson, third baseman Matt Chapman and pitcher Chris Bassitt.

While the Yankees have an opportunity to acquire one of Manaea or Montas, they are unlikely to give up their top shortstop prospects, Anthony Volpe or Oswald Peraza, in order to do so.

But they may not have to. According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, there could be another way for general manager Brian Cashman to land Manaea or Montas.

“My expectation is no. I would think you could put a package together without including one of those guys,” Rosenthal told Ryan Ruocco and CC Sabathia on the R2C2 podcast. “I would imagine Oakland is going to be pretty adamant about wanting one of those two kids. They have Elvis Andrus at shortstop, who is at the end of his career. I just don’t know how that would play out.”

“I would expect the Yankees do everything possible to preserve both of them and retain their flexibility going forward,” Rosenthal said. “Maybe both become stars for the Yankees. Maybe one gets traded for an even bigger pitcher than Frankie Montas.”

After trading for third baseman Josh Donaldson and shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and re-signing first baseman Anthony Rizzo, the Yankees have created a logjam in their infield. New York is stuck with D.J. LeMahieu, who signed a six-year, $90 million contract ahead of the 2021 season, and Gleyber Torres is only capable of playing second base.

So, the Yankees could potentially trade Torres, who is coming off a down season, due to a lack of a fit. The 25-year-old was an All-Star in 2018 and 2019 and is under cheap control for three more years. But Torres’ experiment at shortstop last season was an utter disaster, as he committed 18 errors at the position in 2021.

If the A’s insist on getting a shortstop back in return for one of their pitchers, the Yankees have a trio of players ranking in the top 17 in their farm system that fit this bill: Trey Sweeney, Roderick Arias and Alexander Vargas.

The Yankees can only hope that one of these prospects in the lower levels of their system can help them strike a deal with the A’s. By acquiring Manaea or Montas, the Yankees would ultimately bolster their rotation by adding a clear-cut No. 2 starter behind ace Gerrit Cole. They could also use another starter since Domingo German will begin the season on the 60-day injured list with a shoulder injury.

As Rosenthal said, Manaea is more likely to get moved before regular season begins. But he thinks that it’s fair to assume that both hurlers will be playing for different teams by the time that the trade deadline rolls around in late-July. 

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