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The move that brought Ryan Weathers to the New York Yankees brought out a gamut of emotions among fans. On one hand, there was disappointment as it seemed that this would be the long-rumored trade for a rotation boost. On the other hand, there was optimism that Weathers’ stuff could be unleashed and a breakout could be on the horizon.
Throw in some dismay over the price New York paid to acquire the southpaw, and later, some reassurance from insiders Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty that this doesn’t take the Yankees out of the running for Freddy Peralta or an equivalent name, and you’ve got some truly confusing times.
A closer look at everything we’ve learned so far can help us cut through the fog. The Weathers trade was necessary to set up the next move, ideally a Freddy Peralta acquisition, and it will likely happen sooner rather than later.
The Ryan Weathers trade could signal that a deal to bring Freddy Peralta to the Yankees is close
Think about it for a second. Why do the Yankees need another starter? Carlos Rodón will be out for the first few weeks of the season. Gerrit Cole likely doesn’t return until June. Clarke Schimdt? His timetable is a complete unknown. Then you have any other potential injuries that could arise.
Once everyone is back and healthy, the Yankees should have a strong rotation. The issue is having the depth necessary to get to that point.
We also know that Peralta is the Yankees’ top pitching target. It has been that way for some time. It’s also clear that the most important thing on the Milwaukee Brewers’ wish list in a deal for their ace is a controllable young starter to offset the loss and set them up for the future.
The Yankees have two such arms, Will Warren and Luis Gil, but while swapping one of them (plus prospects) for Peralta will raise the rotation’s ceiling, it does nothing to address the top issue, which is depth.
And before you think that Paul Blackburn is the depth starter answer, the Yankees really want to keep him in the bullpen because they liked what they saw from the brief sample of him working in relief last season. He’s a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency starter, and not legitimate depth to get them through the first couple of months of the season.
Enter Ryan Weathers. If the Yankees trade a cheap starter who can fill out the back-end of the rotation, they’ll need to replace him. That’s Weathers.
Reading the tea leaves, it shouldn’t be a surprise if we see a Peralta trade (forget about MacKenzie Gore, the Washington Nationals are so far away that big league talent coming back doesn’t mean anything to them) come to fruition very soon, and one of Warren/Gil leading the return package.
One last point to keep in mind: the market has spoken and shown that even mediocre starting pitchers with a good deal of team control are an extremely valuable commodity. That means either of these two young Yankees starters can go a long way towards bringing Peralta to the Bronx.
Keep your ear to the ground. The Yankees have (finally) set themselves up to make a splash, and a good bet would be that it happens soon.