The Yankees are thinking upwards when they start launching in 2021. Because they clearly don’t trust safe things.
This month they have already reached an agreement with former Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, who launched an entry in 2020.
Now, they talk to the pirates about Jameson Taillon, who last year threw nothing after his second Tommy John surgery.
The Pirates, perhaps more in rebuilding mode than any other senior team, have already changed a starter, Joe Musgrove, to the Padres and their first slugger, first baseman Josh Bell, to the Nationals. They are open to business and have reported teams moving another headline.
An executive of neither the Pirates nor the Yankees, whose team has participated in the initial launch market, described the Fire Department as Taillon’s strong leaders. An agent who does not represent Taillon said he felt talks with the Yankees were advancing. However, no Yankee or pirate officers answered questions about the status of a trade.
If the Yankees were able to get Taillon, they would add another question mark behind Gerrit Cole, but it would be another talented question mark. The theory is that some of this collection will perform well so the Yankees can put together a strong rotation throughout the season.
Kluber is the most accomplished in the group, but has only made eight starts in the last two years, only one in 2020 before a tear in his shoulder left him out. Luis Severino will return a few months after Tommy John’s surgery. Domingo German should be available from the start after disappearing last season after a suspension under MLB domestic abuse protocols. The Yankees believe Jordan Montgomery has the skills to be No. 3 starter, and that Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt could rise to the same level.
Taillon’s things have never been questioned. In 2010, he was selected second overall by Pittsburgh, located between Bryce Harper and Manny Machado (Pittsburgh won Cole with the No. 1 pick in 2011). But Taillon has been plagued by a number of illnesses. When he was healthy in 2018, the right-hander was between 14 and 10 years old with an ERA of 3.20 in 32 starts. Still, he needed Tommy John surgery in August 2019 and that kept him out of 2020.
Taillon is expected to pay $ 2.25 million in 2021, so it fits in with Yankees ’calculations to stay below the $ 210 million luxury tax threshold at least to start the year and cannot be a free agent until after the 2022 campaign. Taillon turned 29 in November 2020. During his rehabilitation last year, he attempted biomechanical changes in his part, including a shorter arm swing. , to try to alleviate the injuries.
He is talented and worth betting on the price. The Yankees already have to clear two places from the list of 40 men to make way for Kluber and DJ LeMahieu. So, if this trade is done, does it involve anyone from the kingdom of Miguel Andujar, Estevan Florial, Luis Gil and Luis Medina? Opposition executives say the Yankees have been looking for partners to move most of Adam Ottavino’s $ 9 million luxury tax bill by 2021. The Yankees would give up better prospects, for example, if Pittsburgh also would you take Ottavino?