Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said early in the offseason that he will listen to anyone on the Bombers roster and that is evident with teams inquiring about the possibility of trading for closer Andrew Miller.
No names have been exchanged but Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports said that the Arizona Diamondbacks, among others, have inquired. Arizona would be an intriguing match for the Yankees. Assuming MVP-candidate Paul Goldschmidt is untouchable, the D’Backs still have plenty of young players that might interest New York.
Sources: #DBacks among teams to inquire on #Yankees’ Miller. No names exchanged yet, but AZ has young SPs, IFers who would interest NYY.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 11, 2015
Infielders Jake Lamb, Â Chris Owings and Nick Ahmed are potential trade chips if Arizona wants Miller. Lamb is a 25-year-old third baseman. He hit .263/.331/.386 in 107 games in 2015. Lamb might be an upgrade over Chase Headley but Headley is locked in for another three years.
More realistic infield options would be Owings and Ahmed. Both are shortstops at heart, though, Owings played most of the season at second base. In 147 games Owings hit just .227 with four home runs. Where his value is is with the glove. He made a total of five errors between second and shortstop in 2015. But the Yankees just had a second baseman in Stephen Drew who was primarily a defensive second baseman.
The third option would be Ahmed who, like Owings, did not hit much in 2015. Still only 24, the Yankees, if the Diamondbacks are willing to part with him, might hope he hits his potential in pinstripes.
However, if the Yankees are going to part with one of the best closers in the game, they are going to want a sure thing. Starting pitchers Patrick Corbin and Rubby De La Rosa would be interesting options. Corbin who is still only 26 pitched in 16 games in 2015 after recovering from Tommy John surgery. He went 6-5 with a 3.60 ERA.
De La Rosa, once touted as a top prospect, has not lived up to the hype. He pitched to a 4.67 ERA in 32 starts this past season.
Looking at the Diamondbacks roster, there appears to some interesting options but most look like a project and seem to be guys you hope turn into what they are suppose to be.
With the Yankees already having made two move today, expect there to be a lot of chatter regarding Miller.
Again, no names have been exchanged but the names above could be potential targets for the Bombers. Keep here at Bronxpinstripes.com and follow us on Twitter @BronxPinstripes for all the latest Yankees news and rumors.
