New York Yankees need to add multiple starting pitchers

The New York Yankees need to add multiple starting pitchers at the trade deadline if they want to avoid a one-game Wild Card.

At last season’s trade deadline, the New York Yankees added a pair of starting pitchers; Sonny Gray and Jaime Garcia. The 2017 Yankees were “retooling” and had already exceeded expectations by the July deadline. Yet, Brian Cashman still went out and added a pair of arms. The 2018 Yankees now have World Series aspirations and Cashman can’t let another thin rotation ruin their season.

Garcia is gone, now pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays and Gray is struggling to find himself in the Yankees rotation. Gray’s dominant performance against the Kansas City Royals gave Yankees fans hope, but after another bad outing on Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels, Gray doesn’t look like a starter who can be trusted come playoff time.

With neither of Cashman’s 2017 deadline acquisitions looking like useful starters in 2018, more help in New York’s rotation is needed. Jordan Montgomery is still sidelined with a flexor strain in his left elbow. His replacement in the rotation, Domingo German, has struggled since his no-hit bid in his first career start. Masahiro Tanaka has been average at best this month and inconsistent for the season. CC Sabathia has put up three straight clunkers after a dominant stretch after coming off the disabled list. Outside of Luis Severino, the Yankees don’t know what they’re going to get with any of their starting pitchers.

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When it comes to October, the Yankees will need four quality starters, preferably starters who can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Dallas Keuchel, Charlie Morton, Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and Carlos Carrasco.

For the rest of the regular season, though, the Yankees need at least five good starters. Injuries and inconsistencies will require more than five starting pitchers for the rest of the year but five is the minimum. Severino is the ace and a Cy Young contender, Tanaka and Sabathia certainly aren’t going anywhere (health permitting), but that’s where things fall off.

The rest of the regular season is also almost as important to the Yankees as the postseason. Their battle with the Boston Red Sox for AL East supremacy will be one of baseball’s biggest stories down the stretch. Each team could win over 100 games, but one will be playing in a one-game Wild Card. Getting enough starting pitching to avoid that do-or-die contest will be important for the Yankees.

Next: Yankees should go after Madison Bumgarner

I’ve talked about Madison Bumgarner being the Yankees’ No. 1 trade target. Other options include Cole Hamels, Chris Archer, Michael Fulmer, and Danny Duffy. Second-tier starters could include Dan Straily, Bartolo Colon, and Jamie Garcia again. The New York Yankees should find a way to add at least two of those starting pitchers. Otherwise, they could be fighting to keep a 100+ win season alive in a one-game Wild Card.

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