Yankees Asked for Lance McCullers Jr. from Houston

The New York Yankees made it clear that they were willing to move three key players from the Yankees 2015 squad, Brett Gardner, Ivan Nova and Andrew Miller. While the team's GM Brian Cashman was also more than willing to hold onto these three men, especially Miller, he acknowledged that the team could be blown away in a potential trade offer for a young starting pitcher with less than three years of service time. For a good example of this we look to MLB Trade Rumors who announced that the Yankees asked for Houston Astros rookie Lance McCullers Jr. in a potential trade for Andrew Miller.

Miller was the American League's best relief pitcher in 2015 which was evident by him winning the Mariano Rivera Award for the AL so it makes sense for the team to ask for the sky for Miller. He has three years remaining on a pretty team friendly deal at this point and is coming off a year where he was nearly perfect closing out games for the Yankees. Obviously the deal never went through and the Astros instead went to Ken Giles of the Philadelphia Phillies for their relief help but this goes to show you, and I'm speaking directly to those "Why isn't Brian Cashman doing anything" and the "sky is falling" fans, that Cashman IS trying to make the team better. He is.

McCullers is a 22-year old right-handed starting pitcher that would have looked especially good in Yankees pinstripes in 2016. He wouldn't be a free agent until after the 2021 season after going through the arbitration process and posted a 6-7 record with a 3.22 ERA (3.26 FIP) in 2015. The sky is the limit for McCullers and he would have been a welcomed addition to the Yankees young starting rotation. Maybe next time.