As the Chicago Cubs continue their journey to contend for the postseason, the team's front office is scouring the MLB to acquire starting pitching before the trade deadline. Are the New York Yankees a good source to help the Cubs fulfill their need?
The Yankees moved Adam Warren back to the bullpen after last night's loss to the Los Angeles Angels, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. He was scheduled to start on Wednesday, but with Ivan Nova back from Tommy John surgery it appears as if New York will move forward with Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi and Nova in their rotation.
Warren was 5-5 with a 3.59 ERA and 1.198 WHIP in 14 starts this season and previously made only three starts in 104 career games. The moves comes as somewhat of a surprise, but then again, manager Joe Girardi was unlikely to demote CC Sabathia and the team is not about to do the same and give up on Eovaldi, who was acquired from the Miami Marlins in the offseason.
As the trade rumors continue for the next month, are the Yankees a potential partner for the Cubs before the deadline?
"I wonder if it would make sense for them to call the Yankees about either Adam Warren or Nathan Eovaldi, who are two relatively young, controllable pitchers who might throw even better in the NL, and could provide a way for the Yankees to add to their stable of position players," write ESPN Insider Buster Olney.
It was recently reported that the Cubs contacted "literally every team" about their starting pitching options as president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer hope to upgrade and add depth before July 31.
"We know we have to address it here at the deadline," Hoyer told Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com.
"There's not going to be a lot of sellers. You have to think about it creatively and think about what would happen if there aren't a lot of deals to be made."
The Yankees would certainly be a creative route for Chicago. It's been said the Cubs' ideal acquisition would be a young established pitcher with two or three years of club control remaining on his deal. Warren is under club control through the 2018 season and Eovaldi is through 2017, which is exactly what the Cubs are looking for. We wrote yesterday that they could explore a deal for Tyson Ross or Andrew Cashner with the San Diego Padres, but that would probably take a lot of negotiating and the Pads might be hesitant to surrender either of those right-handers.
Warren, 27, is a fresh arm and showed this year he's capable of hanging in the rotation. Eovaldi, 25, definitely has the pitches and talent to be a capable starter, but he's struggled with his command and owns a 4.81 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 15 starts. Either right-hander would at least provide depth for the Cubs before they sign another big name free-agent starter in the offseason.
However, while the Yankees have pitching prospect Luis Severino slated to make his MLB debut perhaps later this year, they also need to maintain their rotation depth. The injury concerns surrounding Tanaka, Pineda and Sabathia provide no guarantee this unit can last the rest of the way and New York is said to be exploring starting pitching options of their own before the deadline.
But it's clear the Yankees don't want to go with a six-man rotation, so if they seek to acquire an established starter before the deadline then someone else would have to be moved. They lucked out with Warren because he already reached a career-high in innings pitched this season, which provided good reasoning to move him (along with the need for a right-hander in the bullpen).
If the Yanks land a Cole Hamels, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, or another starter of that caliber before the deadline, don't be surprised if they look to move someone else. Warren and Eovaldi are assets that could garner interest, especially from Chicago.
