Yankees Land Three-Time Cy Young in Trade Idea

While the New York Yankees' rotation has excelled in May, pitching will remain a major need heading into the July 31 trade deadline.

Though interdivisional trades are typically a rarity, Athlon Sports' Jake Elman proposed a deal that would send eight-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Yankees for a package centered around 2024 fourth-round pick Gage Ziehl, who MLB Pipeline ranks as the club's No. 16 prospect.

"The Yankees need another rotation arm, and Scherzer checks plenty of boxes," Elman wrote. "He'll likely come cheap, especially given his age and one-year, $15.5 million contract. Although Scherzer has a full no-trade clause, pitching for a contender sounds preferable to sticking with a team focusing on 2026."

Scherzer is one of the best pitchers of the 21st century and will likely enter the Hall of Fame as a first-ballot inductee when the time comes.

His 3,408 strikeouts are the second-most since 2000, and he's accumulated 216 wins with a 3.16 ERA across 467 outings and 2,881 innings in his 18-year career.

Scherzer, who's also thrown two no-hitters while winning the World Series with both the Washington Nationals (2019) and Texas Rangers (2023), may very well be in the midst of his final season at 40-years-old.

The right-hander's only start of the campaign thus far came on March 29 against the Baltimore Orioles, during which he allowed two earned runs over three innings before being removed with right lat soreness.

Scherzer was subsequently placed on the 15-day injured list with right thumb inflammation, but a return doesn't appear too far away considering he completed a 45-pitch bullpen session on May 26, per Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun.

The price of pitching is always inflated at the deadline, so perhaps New York would pounce if it could reasonably land Scherzer.

The likes of Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough have all been stellar thus far, but adding another playoff-tested arm in Scherzer would prove to be worthwhile for the Yankees.

Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more!