The New York Yankees need a strong summer if they want to win the AL East title.
For the last few summers, the Yankees have hit a “June Swoon” as they dug themselves a deeper hole in the standings.
The next month of baseball will help New York’s front office decide what they need to target at the trade deadline. As one of the top teams in the American League, the Yankees could be players in the Tarik Skubal trade sweepstakes.
But if the Yankees don’t acquire the back-to-back Cy Young winner from the Detroit Tigers, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden believes another AL East club could make a serious run at him.
“The [Tampa Bay] Rays are my sleeper team to land Skubal, as team president Erik Neander is one of the smartest executives in the game and has a long history of making stealth attempts to acquire players like Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.”
That’s a scenario that should make Yankees fans nervous.
As of Monday morning, the Rays lead the Yankees by 1.5 games for first place in the division. Adding a pitcher like Skubal – who’s rehabbing from surgery to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow – could widen the gap between them and New York.
The way Bowden sees it, Tampa Bay has the farm system depth to make Detroit an offer they can’t refuse.
“The Rays’ farm system is loaded, and they could get creative in making an offer, starting with outfielder Theo Gillen, their top prospect, and right-handers Anderson Brito and Ty Nichols. Then they can finish the proposal with shortstop Victor Valdez. A strong package of these four prospects would really bode well for the future of the Tigers and, at the same time, give the Rays a legitimate chance to get back to the World Series.”
What makes this scenario particularly troubling for the Yankees is Tampa Bay’s track record. Erik Neander has consistently found ways to compete despite budget constraints, and adding Skubal would give the Rays another ace to pair with their typically strong pitching development.
For New York, missing out on Skubal while watching him land with a division rival would be a double blow – especially if they can’t find another frontline starter to address their rotation needs.
