With the trade deadline a little over 48 hours away, there is a ton of speculation about trades and how teams can improve their rosters for the stretch run. I have an interesting trade option that would involve the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees. Hear me out.
There is no question that the New York Yankees are in desperate need to bolster their starting rotation if they want to reach the Fall Classic. This past week the rotation for the Yankees has been abused by the Twins and Red Sox. Brian Cashman will without a doubt make a move before the deadline. Options are limited for the Yankees as Marcus Stroman was dealt to the New York Mets and Madison Bumgarner does not appear to be going anywhere with the recent play of the San Francisco Giants. There is a lot of questions surrounding how effective Luis Severino will be when he returns later in the season from a shoulder injury, so the Yankees need to make a deal for a top of the rotation arm. It is pointless for the Yankees to waste prospects making a trade for a caliber pitcher like one that is already in their rotation. My suggestion, Zack Greinke.
Zack Greinke has been a top of the rotation starter for a long time and I believe he can handle pitching in the Bronx. He is having another stellar season as he is 10-4 with a 2.87 ERA in 22 starts. Greinke also leads the NL in WHIP (.943) and in today’s game where balls are flying out of the ballpark, keeping runners off the bases is of upmost importance. Greinke is a pitcher that I would have no problem handing the ball off to start Game 1 of a series.
I think a major obstacle involving Greinke in a deal is his contract. Greinke will make the rest of his contract this season, 35M in 2020, and 35M in 2021. Asking any team to take on that contract in full is crazy, even if a team is desperate during the deadline. The Yankees are sitting at 189M, so they are comfortably under the luxury tax threshold this season. Looking at next season, they already have 164M tied up. Adding Greinke’s full contract would put the Yankees just shy of 200M (199) and that would be before the Yankees do anything in the off-season. What I am about to propose is something you would typically see in the NBA. The Arizona Diamondbacks should trade Zack Greinke to the New York Yankees for Jacoby Ellsbury and a nice haul of prospects from the Yankees.
I know you are thinking two things. One, Jacoby Ellsbury still plays baseball. Two, why would the Arizona Diamondbacks want him. Jacoby Ellsbury is still in baseball and still being paid by the Yankees. Ellsbury will be in the final year of his deal next season where he will make 21.14 M and has a 5 million dollar buy out for the following season. If you add that up, that is 26 M for Ellsbury. If Arizona sends Greinke to New York, they will be sending 70+ M. That’s a ton of money to spend on an aging pitcher for just two seasons. If you offset Greinke and Ellsbury, the Diamondbacks would save 45+ M (depending on how much Greinke is still owed this season). Yes, Ellsbury is a brutal contract and probably will not be healthy to step foot on a field again. But saving that much money would be huge and by paying some of Greinke’s remaining contract, I think the Diamondbacks would be able to acquire better prospects from the Yankees. It would be crazy to expect the Yankees to dish out a few highly regarded prospects and take on the remaining money for Greinke. Ellsbury is a way to offset the difference.
If you are the Diamondbacks, this trade makes sense because they are one of those teams that are stuck in the middle. They aren’t really competing for a playoff spot and they aren’t rebuilding for the future. They are 53-53, stuck in the middle. By dealing Greinke, it frees up cap space to add to areas of need. The Diamondbacks have 2 pitching prospects in Jon Duplantier and Taylor Widener, both of whom are soon ready to pitch in the league. It would be beneficial for the D-Backs to add to their farm system and see if they can find a quality young arm.
You also must look at what the rest of the division is doing. The Dodgers are a machine and are not going anywhere. The Padres are an up and coming young team and their window is right around the corner. The Giants are playing well but their window is closing as they have an aging team. The Rockies are having a down season but did make the playoffs the past 2 seasons. The D-backs need to understand where they are amongst the other teams in the division and focus on building for the future. A complete teardown is not necessary, but they should not try to compete for a wild card spot this season despite being 3.5 games back. Deal Greinke and focus on 2020 and beyond.
The Storms Bros 