Boasting the best record in baseball entering MLB games today, the New York Yankees don’t need to be overly aggressive ahead of July 30th’s MLB trade deadline. But this also puts the Bronx Bombers in position to gamble a bit, when it comes to taking a risk on players with upside.
One team that’s emerged as an obvious trade deadline seller is the Chicago White Sox, who are on the opposite end of the spectrum, with an MLB-worst 18-53 record. They have several players teams are monitoring, but one who’s generating more attention than others is former top pitching prospect Michael Kopech.
According to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score, the Yankees are one of the teams interested in trading for Kopech and have even sent scouts to study the 28-year-old hard-throwing righty.
But the Yankees are not alone in their pursuit. Levine adds that the Kansas City Royals and Philadelphia Phillies have also joined New York in scouting the former first-round pick.
The belief is that the White Sox are requesting controllable starting pitching in any trade involving Kopech as they look to rebuild their roster with inexpensive talent.
While Kopech’s primary role has been as a starter, he’s been trying his hand as a reliever in Chicago, where he’s been operating as their closer. He’s had mixed results to this point, with a 4.91 ERA across 29.1 innings and a FIP of 5.66, the advanced metrics don’t look much better.
Kopech has not yet lived up to his potential, considering he was once viewed as the 10th-best prospect in baseball, but that doesn’t mean other teams can’t get more production out of the 6-foot-3 pitcher. The Yankees, with their strong supporting staff, remain high on Kopech and believe he can carve out a key role on the roster.