New York Yankees Trade Idea Swaps Veteran Starter for Intriguing Prospect

A potential New York Yankees trade would send a starter they don't need to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for a prospect.

Sep 25, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) reacts during the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees have an influx of starting pitching, which has led to many people expecting a trade before the season begins.

Zach Pressnell of FanSided took a stab at what that trade might look like with a proposed trade with the Atlanta Braves.

The deal would see the Yankees send right-handed starter Marcus Stroman and cash to help with his salary to the Braves in exchange for pitching prospect Cade Kuehler.

New York signed Stroman to a two-year, $37 million deal before last season. He was coming off of an All-Star campaign with the Chicago Cubs and it was a return home for him.

Over the first two months of the year, he looked like a steal. He posted a 2.60 ERA and the Yankees were 8-4 in his starts. Everything was downhill after that, though.

From the start of June on, things changed. He posted a 5.70 ERA over the last 18 games and New York had a 10-8 record in his starts.

The writing was on the wall for this offseason became clear when he did not touch the mound in the playoffs.

In December, the Yankees handed a massive deal to Max Fried despite already having five starters. That leaves one odd man out. Stroman makes the most sense given his age, contract and performance.

With the 33-year-old now being somewhat expendable, adding an intriguing Kuehler is just about as good as they could probably do in this situation.

He was a second-round draft pick in the 2023 MLB draft from the Campbell Camels. He has a deep pitch mix with a solid fastball. Now, he is the No. 10 overall prospect in Atlanta's farm.

The 22-year-old spent most of last season dominating Single-A. He had a 2.52 ERA in 50 innings over 11 starts. A bigger sample size would have been better, but he did well with what he had.

He did get promoted to High-A for one start, but that ended in three innings with eight runs given up.

At worst, he is likely to become a solid back-end starter. Just, down the road when he would be more useful to New York.

One issue is that the Yankees have a ton of right-handed pitching talent already at the top of their farm, so they might want to look for a different position of need. Kuehler would be solid value for Stroman, though.