Brian Cashman and Derek Jeter aren’t best buddies, but they aren’t sworn enemies. Cashman oversaw the end of Jeter’s Hall-of-Fame career and the former Yankees captain began his run as Miami Marlins CEO by trading Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees (it seemed like a good idea at the time for New York).
Now the stars might be aligning for another Jeter-Cashman trade.
The Yankees are down two starting pitchers with left-hander James Paxton recovering from back surgery and right-hander Luis Severino facing Tommy John surgery.
Cashman has insisted his first instinct is to look at internal candidates to fill out the rotation. But MLB.com put together a list of potential trade targets should Cashman change his mind. No. 5 on the list is Marlins left-hander Caleb Smith.
Caleb Smith is 28 years old and about to become eligible for salary arbitration. He’s also coming off a breakthrough of sorts in 2019, with 28 starts, 153 1/3 innings, a 4.52 ERA and a 26.0% strikeout rate. Smith, who was drafted by the Yankees in ’13 and made his MLB debut with New York in ’17 before being dealt to Miami in November of that year, is more of a back-end option. However, he is under club control through ’23, which means he’d be more than just a rental. And as we saw with the Giancarlo Stanton trade two years ago, Derek Jeter’s Marlins are not afraid to swing creative deals with the Yankees.
As for the rest of MLB.com’s list:
1. Robbie Ray, LHP, D-backs. He was rumored to be a trade target of Cashman’s last summer. But general manager Mike Hazen “would like to see more of his young pitchers before any Ray trade, meaning the Yankees likely would have to seriously overpay.”
2. Jeff Samardzija, RHP, Giants. Samardzjia, in the final year of a five-year contract, already asked to wear No. 2 (he was kidding). But “if the Yankees decide to acquire someone, this might be Cashman’s first telephone call.”
3. Johnny Cueto, RHP, Giants. He’s 34 years old, “has made just 13 starts in the past two seasons and will make $21.8 million in each of the next two seasons (with a $5 million buyout for 2022). In short, Cueto is a huge gamble with a potentially huge payoff.”
4. Chris Archer, RHP, Pirates. Another player connected to the Yankees before the trade deadline last summer. “He’s due $9 million for this season, with an $11 million club option for 2021. ... New GM Ben Cherington doesn’t have any attachment to Archer, making him a prime trade candidate.”
Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rosenstein73. Find NJ.com on Facebook.