MLB 2018 Rumors: What Would It Take for the New York Yankees to Trade for Chris Archer?
The New York Yankees have World Series aspirations this year.
The fans know this, the players know this, and so does everyone else involved with the organization.
Heading into this upcoming season, the Yankees are looking strong up and down the roster, with the lineup looking particularly fearsome and the bullpen featuring lights-out potential.
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Still, if there is one part of the team that can still be improved significantly, that may be the rotation.
Luis Severino is an emerging ace, but will he be able to handle an increased workload? Masahiro Tanaka pitched well in last year's playoffs, but there are concerns about the way he performed during the regular season.
Sonny Gray is a good mid-rotation option but not exactly a shutdown starter, and while CC Sabathia is a veteran who has proven he can get things done, his health remains a question and there are concerns too over a possible decline in performance.
There are also questions surrounding the fifth spot in the rotation, with some fans wondering if Jordan Montgomery can build on a solid rookie campaign.
Given the questions surrounding the Yankees' rotation, that makes it easier to explain why they are still being linked to the Tampa Bay Rays' Chris Archer.
In a recent article, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe mentioned the Yankees as a team that could still swing a trade for Archer.
So, will the Yankees actually go ahead and make a move for Archer?
That would depend on a number of factors.
The first would be the health of the Yankees' starting pitchers as the season progresses. It's rare for a rotation to not suffer any injuries over the course of a full season, and the Yankees, in particular, may find it difficult to pull that off considering the injury histories of Sabathia, Tanaka and Gray.
Pitchers currently in the rotation who are failing to produce as expected may also cause the Yankees to look into making a deal for Archer.
Plus, given what the Yankees are aiming for this year, they may just look at their roster midseason and conclude that it could benefit from the addition of a frontline starter like Archer.
Should the Yankees decide that they want to add Archer, they also seem to have the prospects needed to make that deal since they have six Top 100 guys in their system, per MLB.com.
Maybe at this point in time, the Yankees are content with who they have lined up to start games for them, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that they will end up pursuing Archer by the time trading season rolls around.
