MLB trade rumors: Why Yankees' deal for Mets' Jacob deGrom is a 'major, major long shot'

by Felix Pantaleón

The New York Yankees own the best record in baseball. General manager Brian Cashman will be shopping for starting pitching before the July 31, 2018 (7/31/18) non-waiver trade deadline. Would he be able to pry Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard from the Mets? And if so, would rookie second baseman Gleyber Torres be too high a price to pay?

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At this point, it’s become pretty clear that the New York Mets will not be contending for a playoff spot in 2018.

Meanwhile, it’s also pretty clear the New York Yankees could have something special brewing in the Bronx.

The Yankees are in first place in the American League East and own the best record in baseball (49-22).

But if the Yankees want to squeeze past the Houston Astros and return to the World Series, they could use some more pitching, especially with Masahiro Tanaka and Jordan Montgomery on the disabled list.

So it’s pretty easy to dream of a scenario where the Mets trade one of their aces, Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard, to the Yankees.

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FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports the price tag is higher for deGrom, who leads the majors with a 1.51 ERA.

But if Yankees GM Brian Cashman is going for broke, how much is too much to pay for deGrom:

People with both teams see a trade of one of the New York Mets’ two star starters – especially ace Jacob deGrom- as a major, major long shot. But if the Mets were to discuss deGrom, for instance, with the Yankees, they’d insist on Gleyber Torres.

And guess what: The Yankees wouldn’t trade Torres to the Mets – or anyone else, for that matter.

“I can’t see how we’d do it without Torres,” one Mets person said. (Yankees GM Brian Cashman said he can’t trade Torres since he still has to walk around in the city.)

“We’d have to get something pretty good and someone pretty close,” another Mets person said in answer to a question whether they’d need an impact young star who’s a sure thing (i.e. Torres) or might accept a package of four good-but-not-great-chip guys.

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