MLB Rumors: Yankees Now Focused On Frankie Montas As Deadline Looms

The Seattle Mariners and the Cincinnati Reds pulled off a blockbuster trade late Friday night. Could the New York Yankees do the same?

Seattle reportedly acquired Luis Castillo from Cinncinati after the Mariners went all in for the pitcher, who the Yankees would have without a doubt benefitted from adding him to the rotation. But now with Castillo off the board, it appears New York is focused on someone else.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman on Wednesday reported it was a “priority” for the Yankees to bolster their rotation, and he added to that report Friday saying Frankie Montas of the Oakland Athletics has become New York’s “top starter target.”

Montas is wasting away in Oakland and it might do him some good to pitch for a contending team. Of course, should the Yankees acquire Montas, who owns a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts for the A’s, that would only spell bad news for the Boston Red Sox, whose pitching has struggled quite a bit at times in 2022.

The Major League Baseball trade deadline is Aug. 2 so it certainly will be worth keeping our eyes on where Montas ends up.