MLB Mock Trade: Yankees Deal Pair of Prospects to Cardinals for JoJo Romero

This MLB mock trade explores the Yankees acquiring Cardinals reliever JoJo Romero in exchange for two prospects as New York looks to fortify its bullpen for a World Series push.

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher JoJo Romero (59) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

Baseball season is just around the corner, with spring training games starting in about a week and the MLB regular season starting next month. Before we get to the start of the season, teams will continue to sign, cut, and trade players as they prepare their roster for opening day. One player who has been heavily rumored as a player potentially on the move is St Louis Cardinals relief pitcher JoJo Romero. There are a number of teams that could use a high-end reliever coming off a career year with potential closer upside, but one team he has been heavily linked to is the New York Yankees.  

New York Yankees - St Louis Cardinals Mock Trade

New York Yankees Receive

LHP - JoJo Romero

St Louis Cardinals Receive

Prospect - SS - Dax Kilby

Prospect - LHP - Kyle Carr

Fantasy Baseball Impact

This isn't the best landing spot for Romero because there are teams he could land on where he'd be more likely to serve as a closer. Nevertheless, this is still a strong place to land, especially as a left-handed pitcher. He will face more right handed batter and avoid lefties who can pull the ball to the short porch in right field. We'd expect him to get plenty of opportunities in New York, where he can maintain his fantasy value from 2025. Fantasy owners shouldn't significantly change how they view Romero unless he is named the closer somewhere.  

Why The Trade Makes Sense For The New York Yankees

The Yankees want to win the World Series, and they want to win it this year. This is a team that's always in win-now mode, and are mired in one of their longest championship droughts in franchise history. If they are going to compete in a loaded AL East, then go on to knock off a National League powerhouse in the World Series, they need to build a team that is dominant at every position.

We saw the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series in seven games last season, much in part due to what they were able to do against the Toronto Blue Jays' bullpen. New York needs to avoid those same pitfalls if they want to bring a championship back to the Bronx. 

Why The Trade Makes Sense For The St Louis Cardinals

St. Louis isn't considered a serious contender quite yet, but they are heading in the right direction after showing improvement last season. Adding a potential young star like Kilby could help them compete for years, while Carr projects to be a solid MLB contributor, even if he isn't viewed as a high-upside strikeout guy, he can eat up innings and have success once he's ready to be called up.