The New York Yankees will likely look to add to their rotation, and one trade pitch has them acquiring a familiar name.
MLB writer Zach Pressnell of Newsweek predicted a five-player blockbuster deal between the New York Yankees and the San Diego Padres. The focal point of the deal with star right-handed Michael King.
Yankees acquire:
Padres acquire:
The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as New York would acquire a top starter and a solid MLB utility player. San Diego, meanwhile, would acquire three prospects.
King was a member of the Yankees from 2019 until 2023 and was traded to the Padres as part of the Juan Soto deal. With the Padres, King had a stellar 2024, going 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA in 30 starts. The right-hander will be a free agent at the end of the year.
New York would also acquire Arraez, who adds some infield depth. He could play second, which would shift Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to third. Arraez is hitting .283 with 1 home run and 4 RBIs this season.
In return, the Yankees would give up Jones, who’s the team’s second-ranked prospect. The outfielder could push for MLB playing time this season. The outfielder is in AA, hitting .250 with 1 home run and 2 RBIs in 5 games.
Hess, meanwhile, is New York’s third-ranked prospect. The right-hander was the team’s first-round pick in 2024 and projects to reach the majors in 2027.
Smith, meanwhile, is the team’s 15th-ranked prospect. The right-hander was drafted in 2023 and reached A+ in his first year of pro ball in 2024.
Analyst Explains Yankees-Padres Trade
The proposed deal would be a blockbuster, and Pressnell believes it’s a deal the Yankees should make.
The analyst thinks the Yankees need to add a starter, and reuniting with King makes a lot of sense.
“If the Yankees don’t want to spend the prospect capital it would take to land Alcántara, they could opt for a reunion with Michael King. King has top-of-the-rotation potential, while the Yankees could also afford to re-sign him in the offseason,” Pressnell wrote. “As an addition to this trade, the Yankees would land infielder Luis Arráez as well. Arráez would likely play second base while Jazz Chisholm Jr. slots back in at third base. Adding such a good contact hitter at the top of the lineup would help set the table for Aaron Judge in a big way.”
The Yankees would kill two birds with one stone by adding a starting and getting much-needed infield help while also not removing any talent from its MLB roster.
Yankees GM Says It’s Unlikely to Add a Starter
New York had a rough spring training as Gerrit Cole had Tommy John surgery, while Luis Gil is also out with an injury. To make matters worse, Clarke Schmidt is now also out with an injury.
However, after spring training ended, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman admitted that the team adding a starter at the current time seems unlikely.
“We’ll just evaluate what’s available, and this time of year, very little is available,” Cashman said. “Normally, the more significant opportunities don’t exist until the Trade Deadline. When we’ve had these conversations many a time over, you hope you can withstand injuries and avoid injuries early from Spring Training up through the Draft, because going outside the organization is just that much more difficult to do. So we’ll rely on what we have, and we’ll explore what is limited available in the marketplace.”
The Yankees are off to a 7-5 start.
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