ARLINGTON, Texas The Yankees are right to be uber cautious about trading multi-talented center fielder Spencer Jones. As the deadline approaches, Jones . However, the Yankees should keep Jones unle s they can somehow pry away one particular All-Star and that All-Star is very likely to stay where he is. In what would be a major deadline coup, if the Yankees can land Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal of the Tigers for a package including Jones, go for it. The Yankees should hang onto Spencer Jones with one potential exception. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post But if its either of three other outstanding All-Star pitchers White Sox starter Garrett Crochet, As reliever Mason Miller or Marlins reliever Tanner Scott as good as they are, the Yankees should probably pa s. The Yankees declined to part last spring with Jones for star White Sox starter Dylan Cease, and even Juan Soto, who eventually came for quite a haul. So thatll give you an idea of what they think of him. The Yankees are more focused on the bullpen, and thats no surprise. But if they can land Skubal, no prospect should be untouchable. Hes that good. More From Jon Heyman But while there have been trade rumors regarding the left-handed Skubal (who leads MLB starters with a 4.5 WAR and 2.41 ERA), it that the improving Tigers would part with him two-plus years before free agency. No way Avery Bradley Jersey , surmises one involved person. (Of course, stranger things have happened at the trade deadline.) For his part, Skubal suggested he wouldnt mind staying. I try not to think about it too much, Skubal said about a potential trade. I love playing for the Tigers. Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins. AP Meantime, the hard-throwing Crochet, whos been , has a good chance to be dealt, the 103.7-mph-throwing Miller with five years of control left has an outside chance to be dealt (better chance than Skubal) and Scott is all but gone. They are all terrific, but they arent Skubal. Crochet is amazing in his own way. His previous innings high was 54 / and hes on pace for about 200 now (when I mentioned that to him, he corrected me, pointing out the jump is even greater since he threw just 12 / innings last year). And yet, Crochet, who leads MLB with 150 strikeouts, said, Whos to say we should limit the innings? Millers about the most dominant closer going, isnt a free agent until after 2029 and would allow the Yankees to move their All-Star closer Clay Holmes into a set-up role. Same goes for Scott, a rental sure to go. However, its unwise to surrender a big-time prospect for a reliever, even a great one. Spencer Jones #93 of the New York Yankees warms up prior to the All-Star Futures Game at Globe Life Field. Getty Images The most obvious reason to hold onto Jones, 23, . Yes, the 37.1 percent strikeout rate is a concern, but recall that the great Aaron Judge had a 44 percent strikeout rate his first (partial) year in the bigs before becoming the games best position player. Jones has exceptional power (although of course no one can match Judge there) and hes among the very fastest players in baseball. So the skill set is enviable. Thats the biggest reason to hold onto Jones, of course. But the other one is that superstar right fielder Juan Soto and starting left fielder Alex Verdugo are free agents, and theres no guarantee free agents return no matter how much they like playing in pinstripes. Gorgui Dieng Jersey
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