MLB trade rumors: How Yankees’ Brian Cashman can get Indians’ Corey Kluber AND Dodgers’ Manny Machado

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman wants to add a bat to his lineup. He needs to add an arm to the rotation. Is there a scenario in which he signs Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Manny Machado and trades for Cleveland Indians ace Corey Kluber?

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman wants to add a bat to the lineup and is expected to look at Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Manny Machado.

But he needs to add an arm to the starting rotation, and could call the Cleveland Indians, who are shopping ace Corey Kluber.

1 offseason priority for every Yankee

The New York Post’s Joel Sherman looks at how Cashman could land both players during the offseason.

I sense the Yankees are, at minimum, intrigued by Machado, and his signing would give them latitude to use Miguel Andujar as the central trade piece to obtain Kluber — taking a logical leap that the Indians like the AL Rookie of the Year runner-up enough to deal their ace. Imagine 10 years at $330 million for Machado, six years at $126 million for Corbin (the Yu Darvish pact from last offseason) and the assumption of Kluber’s Indians contract, which, if his 2020-21 options are picked up, has three years at $52.5 million left, but costs just $11.3 million toward the luxury tax in 2019.

In all, presuming the Yankees trade Sonny Gray, this would take the Yankees to about $230 million in 2019 — a bit less if they, say, can pay Jacoby Ellsbury down to $5 million a year to trade him to an Arizona or Seattle, but a bit more if they still wanted a reliever and versatile lefty bat. That is more than Hal Steinbrenner wants to invest — and quite frankly, despite the myth that grew that George would spend whatever was necessary, he often said “no” to big outlays.

Hal is on record as saying multiple times that he does not think a $200 million-plus payroll is necessary to win a title. But it still would be under the $246 million level for the worst penalties next year and less than the Red Sox spent to capture a title in 2018 and likely what their 2019 payroll will be as well.

Mike Rosenstein may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @rosenstein73. Find NJ.com on Facebook.