Right now the New York Yankees are sitting in fifth in the American League overall while being in third in the American League East. They are staying par for the course, but are fearing issues will arise the later the season goes on. The Yankees are dealing with pitching issues as injuries begin to mount for the club. Currently dealing with a rotation that features two rookies, the team is aiming to make a deal at the deadline and simply deciding just how big to go.
There is a large hole in the pitching rotation of the New York Yankees. CC Sabathia is out for the near future. Michael Pineda is injured. Ivan Nova is lost for the season. This has pushed rookie Chase Whitley into the spotlight. He is not exactly the pitcher the Yankees were planning on relying on, but missing 60 percent of the projected rotation to injuries forced a change. While Whitley is doing everything he needs to to get a win, he is not the pitcher that takes the Yankees to the World Series. A player like David Price is.
The Tampa Bay Rays are currently the worst team in the American League, a position they did not expect to be in right now. That has left a trade for David Price almost a necessity at this point. According to Nick Carado of the Boston Globe, the Rays are warming up to the idea of trading Price and are willing to listen to offers regarding the former Cy Young winner.
Price's value is slowly dropping. He does not look himself this season and pitching on a losing team is not helping. Prior to the season beginning, the Rays denied every trade offered to the pitcher because their return price was simply too high. However, now the team needs to deal the pitcher and his stats are lower than normal which is deferring some interest.
According to the New York Daily News, the Yankees could favor a deal for Price over someone like Jeff Samardzija who continues to run as one of the league's best. Price could be the cheaper addition and a change of teams could be what Price needs to bounce back.
The Yankees need to make a trade that sets themselves up for a run in the World Series. Relying on a rookie until Sabathia comes back is not the best option, but making a big trade is. David Phelps and Vidal Nuno are too inconsistent and the Yankees must target the best in order to make up for it. Bleacher Report lists James Shields, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee as possible options before the deadline.