NEW YORK — The Yankees spent the past week watching a rotation problem curdle into a full slide, and the timing could hardly be worse with the trade deadline now a month away.
New York carried a 48-38 record into July, still second in the AL East and holding the top wild-card spot in the American League. The Yankees also reached the season’s midpoint stuck in their longest losing streak in three years.
Max Fried, the staff ace, has been on the injured list since mid-May with a left elbow bone bruise. Gerrit Cole is back from Tommy John surgery but still finding his form. Behind them, starters such as Ryan Weathers and Will Warren have been uneven. That gap has pushed one name to the front of nearly every Yankees rumor. Detroit’s Tarik Skubal, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, is the arm most fans want Brian Cashman to chase.
There is a cheaper path, though, and it runs through another AL rivals.
Skubal market comes with a steep price
Tarik Skubal is the best pitcher in the sport, and everyone knows it. He is also a rental set to reach free agency this winter, which makes the cost of adding him tough to justify.
He is earning $32 million this season. ESPN reported that his next deal would likely land “at least $400 million, which would be a record for a pitcher.”
The bidding figures to be crowded. The Los Angeles Dodgers loom as the biggest threat, though recent reporting suggests they may stay patient at the deadline.
Katie Woo of The Athletic wrote that Los Angeles could shift its focus to organizational depth rather than another splashy addition, even as “the allure of a three-peat remains their driving force.”
Money is not the Yankees’ obstacle. They remain one of only three teams carrying a payroll above $300 million. The real cost sits in prospects. Detroit would demand a large return, and the Yankees would likely have to surrender several of their best young players for barely two and a half months of control. Names like Dax Kilby, Ben Hess, and Chase Hampton could all surface in those talks.
Why Joe Ryan fits the Yankees’ rotation and budget
Twins’ Joe Ryan may be the low cost alternative to a Skubal blockbuster, and he may fit the Yankees better than his modest price tag suggests.
The right-hander offers much of what the Yankees need without the same sticker shock. The 30-year-old right-hander has posted a 3.18 ERA across 93 1/3 innings, and his profile mirrors the traits that make Skubal so dangerous.
He misses bats and rarely walks anyone. Ryan has struck out 10.2 batters per nine innings this season while issuing just 1.85 walks per nine. Few starters in baseball can match that balance.
He has also tamed his lone career weakness, the long ball. His home run rate has dropped from a career mark near 1.35 per nine innings to 0.82 in 2026. Ryan made his first All-Star team a year ago, and he is on pace for a career best in wins above replacement.
The contract is where the gap truly widens. Ryan is making $6.2 million this year and holds a $13 million mutual option for 2027. Unlike Skubal, he is not a rental. Any club that lands him controls him through next season as well.
For a front office wary of gutting the farm system, that control changes the math. The Yankees could keep top prospect George Lombard Jr. and still build a package around a lower tier of talent.
Twins’ direction could open the door
Minnesota’s plans will shape everything. The Twins entered the July 4 weekend at 40-45, third in the AL Central and hovering on the edge of the wild-card race.
If the Twins fade, Ryan becomes one of the most coveted arms on the market. The Athletic has ranked him among the players most likely to move before the Aug. 3 deadline.
There may be added incentive for a sale. Ryan and the Twins clashed during arbitration talks last winter, and Minnesota reshuffled its front office amid financial strain. Those cracks could nudge the club toward dealing him.
Ryan has kept his footing through years of speculation. Asked how he manages the noise, he leaned on perspective.
“This is what I’ve always dreamed of doing is playing in the big leagues,” Ryan told the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast.
The Twins hold a second piece the Yankees covet. Catcher Ryan Jeffers, a right-handed bat with a .949 OPS before a hamate injury, is expected back before the deadline. A package built around both players could solve two Yankees needs at once.
What comes next for the Yankees
The clock is the biggest factor now. Fried threw live batting practice on June 30 and is due for another session July 5, with a late-July return in play. His health could shape how hard the Yankees push for outside help.
Even a healthy Fried may not settle the issue. The rotation behind him carries real risk, and the Yankees cannot lean on their offense alone during a stretch like this.
Skubal remains the dream. Ryan looks like the smarter buy. With the deadline closing in and the Twins visiting the Bronx this weekend, the Yankees will not have to look far to measure up their low cost option.
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