New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has been more open with the media than ay any point during his long tenure ever since they finished up shop on a disappointing 82-80 season.
That continued on Tuesday as Cashman met with the media during the MLB Winter Meetings in Nashville. Fully acknowledging their down season, the longtime front office head noted that New York will be active on the trade block.
“I don’t think after a year that we’ve had that there would be very few untouchables. Obviously we value Michael King a lot,” Cashman told reporters.
King, 28, has come up in trade rumors with the San Diego Padres for star outfielder Juan Soto. At this point, New York is seen as the favorite to land Soto in what would be a blockbuster trade. It might have to part with a pitcher in King who has posted a 2.60 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings over the past two seasons.
As for Cashman’s comments, this seems to suggest that New York is active on the MLB trade front. In addition to Soto, the team has been linked to some big-time starting pitchers in the rumor mill. That includes Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes, among others.
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Cashman and Co. would love to keep King. They view him as an important part of the rotation behind ace Gerrit Cole. Even if New York were able to add Japanese sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the rotation in free agency, retaining King could be key for its rotation health.
This leads us to believe that top Yankees prospects and other youngsters who played a role for the big league club last season could be had in trade talks. No. 1 prospect, outfielder Spencer Jones, comes to mind. The same thing could be said for pitchers Chase Hampton and Drew Thorpe, who rank fourth and fifth in the Yankees’ farm, respectively.
It also wouldn’t be a surprise if starter Clarke Schmidt were dangled in trade talks. The 28-year-old pitched to a 9-9 record with a 4.64 ERA a season ago after posting a stellar 3.12 ERA in relief duties back in 2022.
As for the Yankees’ needs, Cashman previously noted that they’re looking for a center fielder and left fielder with a focus on left-handed hitting. Obviously, Soto fits into that category.