The New York Yankees are in a tough spot with the Michael Pineda injury and suspension and as he is set to hit the DL, the team may look to make a trade down the line and names like Max Scherzer, Cliff Lee, Jeff Samardzija, Justin Masterson and Bronson Arroyo could be in the cards for the team since they are also dealing with the loss of Ivan Nova.
The Yankees signed Masahiro Tanaka in the offseason and over the first month of the year the starting pitching was a clear strength, but now depth could be a problem. Vidal Nuno and David Phelps have stepped in to handle things, but with the suspension of Pineda and now his injury along with the loss of Nova for the year, the Yankees could be scrambling come the trade deadline. According to ESPN.com, Pineda, who was suspended 10 games and cannot come off the roster and onto the DL until that is over, felt some pain in a simulated game this week and now he could be placed on the disabled list and no matter what, he will miss his next start.
The ESPN.com report says that Pineda is getting an MRI as he is in Florida and the injury came as he was pitching a simulated game and now the Yankees will hold their breath about the injury. The team is in a tough spot right now, as Pineda is on the 25-man roster and cannot come off until the suspension is over for his pine tar incident, meaning the Yankees will have to play and pitch with a man down.
The team lost to the Mariners on Tuesday night and now Pineda will miss his next start and Phelps will fill in against the Angels on Monday. The Yankees have CC Sabathia, Tanaka and Hiroki Kuroda in the fold, but now more pressure will be on those players without the back end of the rotation healthy. Nova is out until next season with Tommy John surgery and now the Yankees could look at names like Max Scherzer, Cliff Lee, Jeff Samardzija, Justin Masterson or David Price as trade options.
Obviously a Scherzer deal would be extreme, but the Tigers know that he is looking for massive money after rejecting a $144 million extension and that could lead the team to trade him just one year after his Cy Young. Last season Scherzer was great with a 21-3 record and now he could end up leaving the Tigers as a free agent if they can't get a deal done and they just shelled out hundreds of millions on Miguel Cabrera. Samardzija is an option with the Cubs, as he is on a one year deal and has shown that he is a very good pitcher, while Masterson has also had contract issues heading into this season.
Cliff Lee would be very expensive, but the Yankees have wanted him for years and adding him to the rotation would be huge. Price is another option and he is expected to get traded as well, but in the short term the Yankees will likely stay in-house, but these names will come up again when the deadline gets closer, especially if the Pineda injury is a serious one.
