The New York Yankees have had multiple key starting pitchers go down with injuries, so one analyst urges them to acquire a former top pitching prospect.
The Yankees have lost Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Marcus Stroman to injuries. With that, MLB analyst Andrew Wright of Newsweek urges the Yankees to acquire Triston McKenzie from the Cleveland Guardians, who was recently DFA’d.
“McKenzie can be traded or placed on outright waivers any time prior to Friday and if he clears waivers, he will be free to sign with any team,” Wright wrote. “If that is what happens, (a) landing spot for the young right-hander: New York Yankees
“Gerrit Cole’s season-ending injury played a big part in the Yankees making this list. A recent injury to Marcus Stroman also makes pitching a position of need for New York,” Wright added. “Injury history of both Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil could be a concern, so a signing of McKenzie and a stint in Triple-A to allow him to get built back up as a starter could be a good idea for New York and it could give itself more depth if another starter goes down with an injury.”
McKenzie is a former top pitching prospect who was selected in the first round by the Guardians in 2015. He was long viewed as a future ace, but the right-hander failed to live up to the hype.
The right-hander had an 11.42 ERA in 5.2 innings as he was demoted to the bullpen to begin the season. His best year came in 2022, when he went 11-11 with a 2.96 ERA in 30 starts, while striking out 190.
Yankees Have Injuries to Key Starters
New York lost Cole for the entire season due to Tommy John surgery, while Gil has yet to make his debut due to injury, and Stroman is also injured.
With those three injured, New York could take a flyer on McKenzie, as it wouldn’t cost much. As well, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed Stroman isn’t any closer to returning from his injury.
“He’s still feeling some things in there, so he threw, but it’s still kind of clearing the path for him,” Boone said on April 21. “Because he was still feeling some things in there… I know there’s probably some nerve stuff in there that was irritating it a little bit. We’ll continue to work to try to get him physically where he needs to be and then hopefully start building him back up.”
Gil is also a long way from returning, so perhaps the Yankees do take a shot on McKenzie and see if he can get back to form in a low-risk move.
Guardians Wish McKenzie Well
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt wishes McKenzie well after the team announced they had DFA’d the former top prospect.
“It was really difficult to find innings for Triston, and that’s what led to the decision,” Vogt said. “It was tough because of his history here We wish Triston well, regardless of if he gets claimed or stays with us.”
McKenze appeared in 88 games, while starting 80 during his tenure with the Guardians.
