What does New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman have up his sleeve?
As the trade deadline approaches, antsy Yankees fans must wait patiently as they pray for Cashman to pull off season-altering moves. Starting pitching is the biggest area of concern, particularly with Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt out for the season, and Luis Gil still not back in the Big Leagues.
Third base and some middle relievers would be nice, too, but for now, letâs focus on the starting pitcher market.
A Diamond in the Rough
MLB.comâs Jon Paul Morosi thinks Arizona Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen âwould be a really good fitâ with the New York Yankees.
Gallen, 30 in a few weeks, has struggled mightily in 2025. A career 3.51 ERA, 3.61 FIP guy, this year he has a 5.15 ERA, a 4.76 FIP, and 107 strikeouts to 43 walks over 110 innings. Gallen dealt with a hamstring injury for almost all of June, and perhaps that, coupled with the trade rumors, has affected his performance.
Gallen is also an unrestricted free agent after the season. That situation, the fact that he is turning 30, and his difficulties on the mound could significantly lower his price.
Arizona is a decent team, sitting at 46-47, but it is also 9.5 games back of the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers and has to surpass a pair of strong clubs in the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres, too.
This pre-deadline stretch should determine whether or not the Diamondbacks sell expiring players like Gallen.
If that happens, the Yankees would likely only have to sacrifice a pair of mid-tier prospects or a higher-tier one. Perhaps newly minted starter Cam Schlittler (No. 10) can perform well enough for this injury-riddled staff to become a valuable trade chip. That feels like a pipe dream, though.
The Yankees Situation
The main reason the New York Yankees should have confidence in a possible Gallen deal is pitching coach Matt Blake. Blake is one of the best in the business at maximizing pitchersâ arsenals, and, given Gallenâs impressive track record, it would be far from his most taxing project.
The Yankees have only so many prime Aaron Judge years left. Do they really feel confident in finally capturing a World Series for the first time since 2009 with Will Warren, Marcus Stroman, or even Schlittler or Ryan Yarbrough, assuming the fourth postseason starter role?
That is all assuming Gil can rehab smoothly and transition to the Majors as the same pitcher who won AL Rookie of the Year in 2024. On the bright side, Max Fried is an ace, and Carlos Rodón is finally paying dividends on his massive contract.
Gallen has only appeared in one postseason, back in 2023 when the Arizona Diamondbacks won the pennant. He went 2-3 with a 4.54 ERA, a 5.48 FIP, a 1.337 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts to 14 walks over 33 and 2/3 innings. Those are not the most tantalizing numbers, but they are more trustworthy than any of the other options.
New York would also have no future commitment to Gallen. It could still, in an ideal world, roll out a five-man rotation of Cole, Fried, Rodón, Gil, and eventually, Schmidt at the end of 2026.
For now, the focus could stay on Gallen.
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