If we've said it once we've said it a thousand times — it is World Series or bust this year for the Yankees.
The second New York acquired James Paxton in the offseason for Justus Sheffield and a couple other players, things got real. The Yankees had a rotation that included a Cy Young candidate (Luis Severino), a shutdown postseason starter (Masahiro Tanaka), one of the best lefty strikeout artists in the game (Paxton) and a potential future Hall of Famer who could guide the team throughout the year (CC Sabathia). And that's not even mentioning J.A. Happ, who is more than serviceable.
And that was just their starters. They still had one of the best bullpens in baseball and a fantastic lineup that got even better with the addition of DJ LeMahieu. On paper, this is the team to beat in MLB, but they still need to make at least one addition to make them the undisputed favorites: they need that last impact starter, especially considering the possibility Severino may not even pitch this year.
So who could be that one addition who makes this team the undisputed World Series favorite? We'll give you our thoughts based on this season being World Series or bust. And that's important here. We're not thinking about longevity. We are thinking about this season. With that, here's how we rank the Yankees' trade targets.
Ranking Yankees trade targets by potential impact
1. Madison Bumgarner, Giants
As surprising as this might sound, this one is a no-brainer for us and it's all about his October experience. Bumgarner is 8-3 with a 2.11 ERA in his postseason career. He has pitched in three World Series, winning it all each time, while also taking home a NLCS MVP and a World Series MVP. He will know what to do when he gets to the postseason. That's what the Yankees rotation needs. They need their next Andy Petitte. And honestly, he's perfect for Brian Cashman. He's a rental so he won't cost an arm and a leg. He's a lefty and he'll be coming over from the National League so AL hitters won't be quite as familiar with him as they would be with Marcus Stroman or Matthew Boyd. Bumgarner is the perfect fit for the Yankees.
2. Noah Syndergaard, Mets
Along the same lines as Bumgarner, Syndergaard gives the Yankees postseason experience and success (2-1, 2.42 ERA, 36 strikeouts, 26 innings) as well as World Series experience. He hasn't been great this season, but he has the best stuff of anyone on this list, would be moving from the NL to AL and is a strikeout guy which is essential to the postseason. And with controllability he gives the Yankees an asset for another couple of seasons. That is a bit of a negative here though, too, as he would cost a fortune which Cashman doesn't want to give up.
3. Marcus Stroman, Blue Jays
Stroman is a controllable asset who does a good job of keeping the ball in the ballpark, an absolutely essential thing for Yankee Stadium. He also has experience in big-game baseball as he was on the mound when the USA won the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He also has playoff experience. All of those are good things. The issue is, he hasn't been great in the postseason (1-1, 4.40 ERA) and he will cost more than Bumgarner because he does have a year of team control left.
4. Robbie Ray, Diamondbacks
Ray is everything teams need in the posteason. He's left-handed and a big strikeout guy. He also has one year of control left which is a plus. The issue for Ray is he can not only get wild from time to time (he has a career 4.0 BB/9), but he is also rarely more than a six-inning guy and he has struggled in the postseason (career 6.75 ERA in two starts). That's a tough guy to trust.
5. Matthew Boyd, Tigers
Had this been done a month ago Boyd might be a lot higher on the list. Boyd has been bad lately (6.38 ERA in July, 5.90 ERA in June) and his value just isn't there anymore. He has the type of game that would work in the postseason as he is still averaging 12 strikeouts per nine innings, but he is way too big of a chance to take for a team like the Yankees especially considering he will cost a ton with three years of team control left despite having absolutely zero playoff experience.