Mets' Ask From Yankees in Potential Marcus Stroman Trade Revealed

The MLB trade deadline has officially passed, and the New York Yankees stunning let the day go by without making much noise at all. Most believed the AL East leaders would make a move to add talent to their starting rotation, virtually the only group on the roster that's a question mark as the team cruises into the playoffs. However, the once-aggressive Yankees front office got cold feet at the thought of parting with any of their top prospects.

One deal that fell short of materializing was a trade for Marcus Stroman of the New York Mets. Just three days after the Mets dealt their top two pitching prospects for the former Blue Jays ace, they were apparently prepared to flip him to the Bronx if the Yanks met their asking price.

It was a hefty ask from the Mets; Garcia and Florial are the Yankees top two prospects, ranked back to back at 66 and 67 in the MLB Pipeline's top 100. Still, it was worth an effort by the Mets, as nabbing those two would be a huge upgrade over the prospects they surrendered to get Stroman in the first place. It's no surprise the Yankees shot them down.

New York baseball's little brother held the leverage in any potential deal, as they have at least one more season of control over Stroman and were in no rush to give the Yankees a hometown discount. At just five games out of the second Wild Card spot in the NL, the Mets now boast an impressive starting rotation and will look to sneak their foot in the door to the playoffs.

While many Yankees fans are criticizing their team for being unable to pull the trigger on a staff upgrade, they were put in a difficult position -- at least when it comes to Stroman -- as their two potential trade partners were a division rival and a crosstown rival.

Now, with the Astros sporting an improved rotation, the Yankees will have to hope their pitching can hold up during a World Series run.