Could Yankees look to Padres for pitching help after Luis Severino injury

Who could the Yankees want

Let’s start by looking at who would not be available from the Padres, and to me that list includes Chris Paddack, MacKenzie Gore, and Luis Patino.

I don’t think the Yankees are looking for prospects like Gore or Patino anyway, and are most likely looking for an established big league pitcher.

But Paddack, Gore, and Patino are the future top of the rotation for the Padres and aren’t going anywhere.

Garrett Richards is an interesting one to considered. He’s obviously an established big league arm, but he hasn’t thrown more than 80 innings in a season since 2015.

I doubt the Yankees would want to take on another injury risk in their rotation, but it could help give the Padres some salary relief and he could be a big boost atop the Yankees rotation if he stays healthy as a one-year rental.

Dinelson Lamet is another arm coming off an injury, but he’s much younger and under control for four more seasons under arbitration.

I think he could bring the best return from the Yankees.

Joey Lucchesi would instantly become the third or at least fourth best pitcher in the Yankees rotation. He was a 1.6 WAR player in 2020 and I think he could have a big 2020 season.

He has nearly 300 innings in the big leagues with a solid 4.14 ERA, so I think he would be a solid addition to the Yankees rotation.

Cal Quantrill might not move the needle enough for the Yankees, but he does have some big league experience and could help eat some innings at the back of the rotation until Paxton comes back, or to give some of their young guys more experience in the minors until they’re ready.

Who could the Padres want

What I’m having a harder time figuring out is what the Padres would want back from the Yankees.

Yes, the Yankees are stacked, but for a team hoping to win a World Series in 2020, I’m not sure they’d be willing to give up much on their Major League roster.

The first two names that came to mind for me were Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar.

Frazier was once a top prospect who hasn’t quite lived up to his potential. It might be time for a change of scenery.

The only problem is that he’s not a center fielder, even though he played there some in the minors, and the Padres outfield is already pretty crowded.

Andujar is intriguing to me as he finished second in the the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 after hitting.297 with 27 home runs.

But then he only played 12 games in 2019 because of injuries and lost his spot at third base.

He’s known to be a below-average defender at third. My hope would be that he could go to second base and possibly become the second baseman of the future in San Diego.

The only other name that really interests me is outfielder Mike Tauchman.

He broke out with the Yankees in 2019 at 28 years old hitting .277/.361 with 13 home runs in 260 at-bats.

I ran across this article from our friend Mickey Koke who also mentions Tauchman as a possible trade option.

He’s capable of playing all three outfield positions and playing them well as he had 14 defensive runs saved last season and 4.6 UZR.

Most of his time came in the corners, but he did play almost 100 innings in center with 2 DRS and 0.7 UZR.

A mock trade

First, let me start by saying that a trade between these two teams seems unlikely.

After talking to the site expert at Yanks Go Yard, it sounds like they are still comfortable with the guys they have right now. And he didn’t view any of the Padres pitchers (I’m assuming after Paddack) as much of an upgrade over what they already have.

I tend to disagree with that last notion, but I can understand where he’s coming from. And if a trade is going to happen, it probably comes during the season once the Yankees see what they have internally.

But here is what I’m thinking as a trade that could work.

You could really swap Lamet for Lucchesi in here, but I think Lamet gives the Yankees more of an upside arm.

And I really like Lamet and don’t want to see the Padres trade him, but if the Padres feel like Gore and Patino are destined to backup Paddack at the top of the lineup at some point this season, then Lamet could become expendable.

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Some of this could depend on how the Padres view Michel Baez and Adrian Morejon going forward as well. If they still feel like they’re going to be mid-rotation starters, then again, you have the depth to part with someone like Lamet if it brings you back a long-term solution in center field.

And that gets into how you view Tauchman, which might be another full article.

Tauchman is a lefty bat who has a career OBP of .375 in the minors — granted most of that was accumulated in the hitter-friendly PCL with the Colorado Rockies.

Even in the big leagues he has a career OBP of .343 in 319 at-bats. And he’s capable of being a 20-20 player. That’s certainly the type of bat the Padres are looking for.

You have to keep in mind that Tauchman is 29 years old, so you wonder just how long he can be effective in center, which is where I envision him playing with the Padres.

If the Padres did give them Lamet, they’d need something more in return. I honestly don’t know the Yankees system very well, but I’d like someone in the back-half of their top 30 — most likely a starter or middle infielder with some upside.

The better deal to make is Quantrill straight up for Tauchman, but again, I’m not sure the Yankees would view Quantrill as much of an upgrade over what they have.

I think a deal could happen here, but it may be one that comes during the season once teams see how things shake out. Do you see the Yankees and Padres matching up in a trade? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.