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Yankees and Rockies Should Ignite MLB With This Surprise Jon Gray Trade

By Steven Kubitza

The New York Yankees should come up with a trade package for Colorado Rockies pitcher Jon Gray.
The New York Yankees should come up with a trade package for Colorado Rockies pitcher Jon Gray. / Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

The New York Yankees are already without Luis Severino for the entire 2020 season. James Paxton was supposed to miss time, but is reportedly good to go if the season ends up starting in a few months.

Yet the Yankees should still target another reliable starting pitcher in a trade. Injuries have ravaged the team for several years and an ailment like Severino's can pop up out of nowhere. New York has a strong farm system filled with players who are blocked from a call-up to the Bronx for years to come. The team can use two of those prospects in a trade package for Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jon Gray.

Gray's trade value is high after coming off the best season of his career. He made 25 starts and finished with a 3.84 ERA in 150 innings. Gray averaged exactly one strikeout per inning and rebounded after posting a 5.12 ERA in 2018.

The starter is making $5.6 million in 2020 and has one final year of arbitration in 2021. Yet, he is 28 years old and with major money owed to both Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon, along with a potential Trevor Story mega-deal, the Rockies can cut salary and add elite younger talent in a trade. Two prospects to target from the Yankees organization are Luis Gil and Estevan Florial.

Gil is the No. 5 ranked prospect in the Yankees system. The right-handed pitcher reached Advanced-A in 2019 and made a total of 20 starts throughout the year. He is only 21 years old and had 123 strikeouts in 96 innings last year. Gil is still a few years away from the majors. That makes him a prime target to build around in Colorado.

Florial is right behind Gil as the No. 6 ranked prospect in New York. He is a 22-year-old outfielder who spent 2019 in Advanced-A. The Yankees don't have a surplus of outfield depth, but the team usually opts to outspend everyone else when necessary. That makes someone like Florial expendable and a perfect option for a Rockies team with a 33-year-old Blackmon and 34-year-old Ian Desmond in the outfield.

The Rockies do not appear to be contenders in 2020 and the team has to accept that fact after a rough 2019 season. Trading Gray for two top prospects is a no-brainer.