New York Yankees should call Cubs on availability of Kyle Schwarber

The New York Yankees should inquire to the Chicago Cubs about the availability of the young Kyle Schwarber.

Although many people from the outside looking in would consider the 2017 New York Yankees season a huge success the people within the organization may not see it that way. After falling one game short of their first World Series appearance since 2009, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge reiterated after losing to the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the ALCS what matters most to him.

“We didn’t win the World Series. You’re not really satisfied,” Judge said. “That’s what you want. That’s why you play and why you train in the offseason. It’s all for the opportunity to win the World Series, and we came up short.”

The gut punch Game 7 loss the Astros inflicted on this new look Yankees team may be everything they needed and more. Yes, a World Series berth and a potential title would have made things that much sweeter to a storybook season but then maybe complacency would have kicked in. The mindset, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” could have possibly kicked in and truthfully that would have hurt this young Yankees team destined for deep playoff runs that will challenge the great Yankees teams of the past by keeping together the young core of Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, and Didi Gregorius for years to come.

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This past season, despite how great it was highlighted a lot of needs and significant upgrades the Yankees could potentially make during the offseason and one of the most glaring holes was the designated hitter position. With the exception of the final four games of the ALCS, Yankees designated hitters combined for an atrocious 0-28 start with 9 strikeouts before Chase Headley finally broke the hitless streak with a weak rbi single in Game 3 of the ALCS.

The current crop of free agent designated hitters is either too old or too pricey considering the front office is planning to get under the luxury tax threshold. That presents an alternative option, trade for Chicago Cubs young slugger Kyle Schwarber. After trading highly touted prospect Eloy Jimenez to the Chicago White Sox in a July trade deadline deal for Jose Quintana, the Cubs lost of one of the best outfielders projected to hit the big leagues in 2018 or 2019 and depleted their farm of a big league ready talent with 8 out of their top 10 prospects being pitchers.

A 2016 trade deadline deal between the Yankees and Cubs that sent flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs for number one prospect Gleyber Torres paid dividends for both clubs. The Yankees replenished a once diminished farm system, and the Cubs eventually would go on to win the World Series. Hopefully, both teams can maybe strike up another deal. The Cubs have a need for young affordable arms, and with the impending free agency of Jake Arrieta, Wade Davis, and the retirement of John Lackey they’re going to need to make up for the potential loss and quickly fix a rotation to complement the rest of a team that’s in position to compete for another World Series title.

If the Yankees could work out a deal with the Cubs both teams can end up winning in the deal. The Yankees could end up with a 24-year-old power hitting lefty bat that could be slated at the DH position for the next decade to go along with their young core and the Cubs on the other hand could end up with low-mid level pitching prospects with a position player like Tyler Wade or Tyler Austin to seal the deal.

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The ability to catch and play left field are other factors that make the addition of Schwarber very attractive and more importantly his championship pedigree. At 24, having a World Series title, playoff experience, and a team-friendly contract until 2022 are all positive characteristics that may make Yankees GM Brian Cashman pick up the phone and call Cubs GM Theo Epstein one more time.

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