WWGD: One major deal for the Yankees to help sign a great starting pitcher, trade for a big right handed bat, get bullpen help and fuck over the Red Sox in the process

The Problem

The arms race for starting pitchers in the AL East is heating up. The Blue Jays have signed Dylan Cease, the Red Sox have signed Sonny Gray, and other big names are still available. The best fit for the Yankees is Tatsuya Imai, an NPB groundball machine with a high K rate that profiles as a 4+ WAR starter in Yankee Stadium and a solid playoff contributor. Imai is a clear difference maker and would give the Yankees the deepest rotation in MLB with their other starters.

But talented starting pitchers like Imai tend to attract lots of attention, notably from the SF Giants who need a co-ace for Logan Webb to try to make a deep playoff run. How can the Yankees potentially chill Imai's market and ease his path to spending his prime years in pinstripes?

The Solution

To remove the Giants from the list of Imai's suitors the Yankees need to provide them with a great substitute, someone who has potential Cy Young talent and would make a great 1-2 punch with Logan Webb. That pitcher is Joe Ryan, currently of the Minnesota Twins. On their own the Giants might not have enough trade capital to get a Joe Ryan trade done but with the Yankees help they could get this trade done.

The Bonus – Fuck Boston

It's well known that the Red Sox tried to get Joe Ryan as their #2 starter behind Garret Crochet during the Twins' fire sale at the trade deadline this past July. The Twins insisted that Boston trade some of their best starters and that wasn't happening in-season. Now Jeff Passan has named a deal for Joe Ryan as the best off-season trade for the payroll restricted Red Sox. But if the Twins receive a great deal from the Giants and Yankees for Joe Ryan then for at least the next 2 seasons he moves to San Francisco, not Boston. Keeping Joe Ryan out of Boston should be a top priority for the Yankees. This is the kind of shit that George would have pulled out of sheer spite.

The Trade

The Giants send top lefty SP prospect Carson Whisenhunt and former solid hitting Yankee catching prospect Jesus Rodriguez to the Minnesota Twins.

The Yankees send elite framer Austin Wells and their #5 prospect righty SP Bryce Cunningham to the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins send SP Joe Ryan to the San Francisco Giants and righty slugging catcher Ryan Jeffers to the NY Yankees along with reliever Cole Sands

Why The Deal Works

Why the Giant say yes

• They get a playoff-caliber SP2 in Joe Ryan. His arsenal and pitching style is an even better fit for Oracle Park than Imai's.
• They give up a top SP prospect + catching prospect (reasonable cost) for an ace with 2 years of control.
• They keep most of their farm intact
• They save payroll on a potential over-commitment to a long term contract with Imai

Why the Twins say yes

• The Twins are clearly rebuilding and have just 2 years of control left for Ryan. They have to get the best possible trade package for him right now. The Giant/Yankees package beats anything the Red Sox or any other team could come up with on their own.
• Whisenhunt is MLB ready and projects as a potential future ace. Cunningham is maybe 1 season away from his MLB debut with 2 grade 60 plus pitches. Both could cheaply help anchor a Twins starting rotation for years to come.
• The Twins lose Jeffers but gain a lot of stability at catcher with Wells and Rodriguez. By adding those 2 they get catching security for years and Wells adds 20 – 25 HRs a year.
• This deal rebuilds the Twins pitching and catching pipelines.

Why the Yankees say yes

• They remove a bidder from the Tatsuya Imai sweepstakes thinning the field to sign him.
• The Yankees swap high K% lefty Wells for righty Jeffers, a top 10 hitting catcher in MLB. Jeffers adds balance to the Yankees lineup and is a clear offensive upgrade to Wells. This is a "win now" type move.
• Bryce Cunningham's lane is blocked by the Yankees commitments to starters already under contract (not to mention Imai) so it makes sense to get a return for him now.
• The Yankees need to rebuild their bullpen and Cole Sands is a good step in the right direction as a 6 out reliever. When he's on he's got the talent to strike out Ohtani on 3 pitches and his BB% is miniscule. The vaunted Yankees pitching lab can help him get the consistency he needs to take the next step.