Brett Gardner for Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar? Yes Please…

The rumors and speculations surround the New York Yankees and their left fielder Brett Gardner began before the MLB postseason and World Series were already over. Some have it as an absolutely certainty that Brian Cashman will send Gardner off in a trade this winter that will either open the door for Aaron Hicks to be an everyday player or the that the trade will open the door for a free agent signing such as Yoenis Cesedes, Justin Upton or Jason Heyward. I am not against trading Gardner, personally, but it has to be in the right deal. Jon Morosi reported this week that he is hearing, for what that’s worth, that one potential deal Gardner could be included in is a deal that could fetch a controllable starting pitcher out of the Cleveland Indians organization.

Gardner in a deal for either Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar, both of which are reportedly being shopped by Cleveland this winter, would make a great deal of sense for both clubs. Cleveland is looking for an outfielder to not only replace Michael Brantley while he is out with a shoulder surgery but the team is also looking for an outfielder to play beside Brantley when he returns from the DL.

Salazar, 25-years old, has not even hit his arbitration years yet while Carrasco, 28-years old, looks like an absolute ace starting pitcher in the making. Carrasco cannot hit free agency before the 2019 season so trading Gardner for three seasons of Carrasco makes sense for a team that desperately needs an ace and some stability in their rotation beyond the 2017 season. After the 2017 season the Yankees could possibly see one or all of Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Pineda hit free agency.

There is no word whether this is the package that’s truly being discussed or if this is just speculation, although I lean towards the latter at the time of this writing, and there isn’t any word if the Yankees would trade Gardner straight up or have to include prospects along with his some of his $39.5 million remaining on his salary over the next three seasons. For that you will just have to stay tuned.