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4 Potential Trade Deadline Acquisitions Yankee Fans Should Keep Their Eye on This Year

By Sean Facey

There are plenty of trade candidates that the Yankees could pursue at the deadline.
There are plenty of trade candidates that the Yankees could pursue at the deadline. / Norm Hall/Getty Images

The New York Yankees' roster has already been decimated by injuries and the season hasn't even started yet. With stars such as James Paxton and Luis Severino dropping like flies, the needs of this team for the upcoming season have become glaringly obvious, especially on the pitching staff.

Fortunately, the Yankees have the assets to swing trade deadline deals for any of these four players, assuming the team isn't healthy or is underachieving come late July. These guys are worth keeping tabs on as the year progresses.

4. Robbie Ray

Ray could help solidify the Yankees' injured rotation.
Ray could help solidify the Yankees' injured rotation. / Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images

With Luis Severino done for the year, another productive starter joining the rotation could be key. The Yankees head into the 2020 campaign once again in need of starting pitching, and Robbie Ray once again stands out as a possible solution to the problem. He'll be pitching in a low-pressure environment for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2020, and even if he doesn't produce ace-like numbers, he can still serve as a reasonable acquisition to round out the back end of the starting staff.

3. Ken Giles

In spite of injuries, Giles was one of baseball's best relief arms in 2019.
In spite of injuries, Giles was one of baseball's best relief arms in 2019. / Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

There's no such thing as having too many good arms in a bullpen. Even with an already strong core of relievers and some intriguing in-house options, the Yankees could make a run at Giles. The Toronto Blue Jays reliever is on the final year of his contract and is coming off a season in which he logged 23 saves and struck out 83 batters in just 53 innings. Provided that health issues don't limit his time on the mound like they did in 2019, he'd be the perfect bullpen acquisition.

2. Jon Gray

Gray pitched well despite his team's struggles in 2019.
Gray pitched well despite his team's struggles in 2019. / Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

Gray is coming off of a quietly productive year for the Colorado Rockies. In a season where his pitching companions melted down in Denver, he managed a respectable 3.84 ERA, logging 150 strikeouts in 150 innings. If the Rockies are struggling when the deadline rolls around, he and the extra year of control he has left on his contract could be enough to put him in pinstripes to plug up any rotation holes.

1. Trevor Bauer

Bauer could inject plenty of energy into New York's rotation.
Bauer could inject plenty of energy into New York's rotation. / Jamie Squire/Getty Images

The Yankees were linked to Bauer for the majority of the 2019 season, and it looks to be more of the same in 2020. Bauer could be the perfect, fiery replacement for Severino as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. The former All-Star brings a competitive energy unlike any other to his game, and if he can find the form that saw him post a 2.21 ERA back in 2018, it seems like a given that the Yankees will be chomping at the bit to acquire him if the Reds are willing to sell.