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Yankees Dream Trade: Carlos Carrasco

Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Recently the market for starting pitching has become a lot more interesting since the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners reported they are both open to trades for some of their top starting pitchers. The Indians have Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco available, while in Seattle the option of left-handed throwing James Paxton has gained attention from the Yankees and Astros. A quick note about the three, James Paxton and Carlos Carrasco respective contract situations would hold them until 2020, with Corey Kluber being the lone pitcher available to be help till 2021. What that fact does is make Kluber just that much more expensive considering a trade package, because he is also the most productive pitcher of the three.

Name Team G GS IP K/9 BB/9 BABIP GB% WHIP ERA FIP WAR
Corey Kluber Indians 160 160 1091.1 10.13 1.84 0.287 44.80% 1.02 2.85 2.84 31
Carlos Carrasco Indians 159 131 856 10.12 2.05 0.299 48.60% 1.09 3.27 3.01 21.4
James Paxton Mariners 98 98 558.1 9.61 2.6 0.305 46.10% 1.2 3.5 3.12 13.6

Fangraph Statistics 2014-2018

Name Team G GS IP K/9 BB/9 BABIP GB% WHIP ERA FIP WAR
Corey Kluber Indians 94 94 633.2 10.14 1.8 0.271 44.50% 0.97 2.77 2.97 18
Carlos Carrasco Indians 89 87 538.1 10.15 2.06 0.305 46.70% 1.12 3.33 3.21 13.4
James Paxton Mariners 72 72 417.1 10.37 2.22 0.315 44.10% 1.16 3.52 2.9 11.8

Fangraph Statistics 2016-2018

Thinking About Kluber

To receive Corey Kluber in a trade from the Indians you have to envision the players they receive are players who can make a difference, since Kluber can make a difference on any team. Out of all the prospects the Yankees have and major-league ready players who are pre-arbitration eligible, currently the most impactful players we have are Miguel Andújar and Gleyber Torres. They proved it this season, both ending up as rookie of the year finalist along with Shohei Ohtani. Are the Yankees ready to let go of either one? I highly doubt it. The Yankees were in a similar position last year when Miguel Andújar was asked for in a Gerrit Cole trade and that trade was denied. I'm not comparing Cole to Kluber, but I would find it just as unlikely since both Andújar and Torres are now proven talent, and the Yankees weren't willing to part with either when they were unproven. Working even further back, the Yankees reported one of the reasons they didn't trade for Chris Sale was because Luis Severino was part of the package asked for him. The front office is choosing to keep home grown talent and we are all hoping it pays off soon. With that said, my dream of Kluber joining the Yankees is dead because Cleveland knows they have a better shot at winning with Kluber instead of anyone else we send over there that is not Andujar or Torres.

Carassco and Paxton

Like I mentioned before, both pitchers would be under Yankee control for two more years. One of the biggest differences we can dive into between Kluber and both Carrasco and Paxton is his consistent 200 innings brought every single season with ability to produce at an elite level. It goes without saying Carrasco and Paxton are two of best pitchers in the league but the lesser durability and contract length of them both, might allow the Yankees to acquire either one without having to give up Torres or Andújar. This is where I can start dreaming again. The differences aren't large but they are enough to change the asking price from something with Andujar or Torres to say Sheffield and Frazier.

A look at Cleveland and Seattle's roster

To figure out what either team will want from the Yankees I had to take a look at the roster of both teams. Cleveland is an interesting situation because they can essentially have a completely different lineup by 2020. After next season ends the Indians will have club options for six players and one mutual option. So let's just imagine a trade does goes through and the Yankees receive Carrasco. Cleveland can add Kluber back with their club option, they will still have Bauer, but the offense will be where they need help. Denying club options with Edwin Encarnacion, Jason Kipnis, Yonder Alonso, and Yan Gomes, would give them finances to either sign some of these players back for a lesser value or go out into the free agent market.

In between this hypothetical is where the Yankee trade would come in, if we offer Frazier and Florial to Cleveland they could be interested because their outfield prospects at this point aren't much to be talked about. Cleveland's offensive core is currently Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez who could be together as far as 2021, and these two Yankee prospects could help make that core become bigger. With the Indian's being able to release so many expensive contracts for 2020 they could fill in some of the remaining offensive spots with free agents. After Frazier and Florial, I would include Justus Sheffield while offering out of options Domingo German or Luis Cessa as option.

Looking into Seattle's roster they don't have as much flexibility as Cleveland has. Infield positions are locked for a couple of years with Cano, Seager, Segura, and Gordon, while in the outfield you have to imagine Mitch Haniger, Ben Gamel, and recently acquired Maxwell Smith are locks as well. Cano should be considered Seattle's future first baseman or designated hitter after the trade for Smith moved Gordon back to second base. Overall, where Seattle does have some space to acquire trade talent is through pitching and catching, we might not have catchers but we for sure have pitchers.

To build a James Paxton trade, we should be focused on sending starting pitching even more so because James Paxton is their best pitcher and would leave Seattle without and ace. Someone like Justus Sheffield would for sure need to be in this trade along with Domingo German. I don't see Seattle asking for either outfielder in Frazier or Florial because they already have a set outfield who will be going through arbitration till 2022. They can easily add a platoon outfielder through free agency and call it a day. Our only enticing infield pieces would be Tyler Wade and a long shot for Greg Bird who Cashman has shown plenty of support for but Bird just can't seem to get healthy again to prove himself. With that said, as I fight the urge to consider an impossible Cano reunion where we swap contract for contract with Ellsbury, as well getting Paxton and giving up Greg Bird with Justus Sheffield and Domingo German, I just don't believe we are a better match with Paxton than we are for Carrasco.

We don't choose our dreams, but if I did Carlos Carrasco would be the player we trade for. We need pitching to support Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka, and it doesn't only have to come from free agency. Dreaming of a rotation with Luis Severino, Patrick Corbin, Carlos Carrasco, Masahiro Tanaka, and C.C. Sabathia already feels like asking for to much but it's the one the front office should be working on.

Yankees

-Carlos Carrasco

Indians

-Justus Sheffield

-Luis Cessa

-Clint Frazier

-Estevan Florial

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