Following the Washington Nationals' surprise signing of former Detroit Tigers ace Max Scherzer to a massive seven-year deal, rumors began to circulate that the Nats could place either Stephen Strasburg or Jordan Zimmermann on the trading block with their rotation currently six deep.
The New York Yankees are one team that likely has had their interest piqued by the goings-on in the nation's capital, but Pinstripe Alley's Caitlin Rogers is quick to point out that a deal for either of those pitchers would likely cost the Yankees a major haul in return:
The Yankees would obviously have to put together quite a package in order to make a trade like this happen, but the Nationals do have some areas where they need help, so the idea of the two teams agreeing on a trade isn't totally outside of the realm of possibility.Jayson Werth just had shoulder surgery last week, and he probably won't be done with rehab in time to start the season, so the Nationals could use another outfielder. They also could use a second baseman, after losing last year's fill-in, Asdrubal Cabrera, to free agency. While they did trade for Yunel Escobar recently, the Nationals don't have a lot of depth at second base in their system. Every team could use bullpen help, so they would probably be open to relievers as well. If the Nationals insisted on a package including the Yankees' best prospects, then that might feature Luis Severino and Aaron Judge and wipe out the farm system. Now that they have Andrew Miller, the Yankees might be able to make a trade package around Dellin Betances instead, but they would have to strongly consider whether strengthening the rotation would be worth it.
The most intriguing and polarizing name in that analysis would be Dellin Betances. If the Yankees are really willing to part with a potential lockdown reliever like Betances for Zimmermann and Strasburg, that would likely grease the wheels on such a deal.
However, that's a huge if and is purely speculative at this point.
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