It doesn't feel like April was that much of a success because the infield still stinks and we lost Pineda for a month on top of his suspension and Nova is out for the year, but the Yankees lead the division with 15 wins, which is actually tied for second in the American league. Its April and so small sample sizes still abound, remember Vernon Wells was hitting .300 at this point last season with six home runs and people were asking if Wells could be a brilliant move from Cashman, but Wells hit .216 with five home runs and twenty walks the rest of the year and everyone went back to deciding Cashman was an idiot. April is a lie and it has always been one, but the Yankees have shown real promise in a lot of areas, while they also shown that they will need to upgrade others at some point.
At the end of April the Yankees are currently fifth in batting average and 6th in OPS in the AL which is not bad, but their rotation has been unimpressive behind Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda and that will need to change as Kuroda and Sabathia simply need to be better if the Yankees want to win this season and now with the injury to Nova they will likely need to look to trade for a starter or hope than Manny Banuelos can take a huge leap forward and contribute this season because he is likely their best hope in terms of a home grown starter who can be a positive force for the team, otherwise they will need to look to acquire a starter.Its obviously too early to look for who might be available but two names that jump out at me are Cliff Lee because duh and the other is Brandon McCarthy, there is nothing particularly special about McCarthy except that he has been a solid pitcher in the past and he is playing on the absolutely awful Arizona Diamondbacks who seem more likely than anyone to blow up their team and McCarthy seems like a guy who they would be likely to move, however Kevin Towers may decide that McCarthy, who was struck on the head by a line drive in 2012, is too gritty be traded or he may also decide he is not gritty enough; Towers seems to make odd decisions with personnel. Lee is pretty obvious but I doubt that the Phillies will move him because they also make odd personnel decisions and they are very unlikely to trade him in May when they may be playing well.
The other position that the Yankees need help in is there infield and its not really specific of where they would need that help as they need somebody to play either second or third and preferable a young player who could move to short stop next season, but trading for a player like would be hard as most of those players are either starting for a team or the team is looking to move an older veteran so that he can start. Obviously Brian Roberts has not been very good but its really too early for us to see who is interested in making deals and with the new playoffs it seems like teams stick it out much longer because they cling to this idea that they will be able to contend. The Yankees were tied to Didi Gregorius in the off season, but the awful Diamondbacks would seem more likely to try and move someone so that Gregorius can start everyday and they have two players that they could possible trade to clear a spot in Martin Prado and Aaron Hill both of whom would likely interest the Yankees.The player I think the Yankees would prefer is Martin Prado who is a versatile player capable of playing either third or second base, but I think the Diamondbacks are more likely to try and trade Aaron Hill who is strictly a second baseman and has not been a very good defensive one these last two years. In 2012 Hill hit .302.360/.522 with 26 Home runs and won a silver slugger but only played 87 games last season after suffering a hand injury in April, he would obviously fit well for the team but I am not sure how the Yankees will feel about him being under contract for the next two season, they may find it a boon or they may not like it the money however is fairly reasonable at $12 million a season in 2015 and 2016 and Hill will be 34 when the contract expires so it is not a bad deal, we also have no idea if the Diamondbacks want to move him. Another player that the Yankees could have interest in is Chase Utley who while not an MVP candidate anymore is still a very good player and only under contract for next season, although he does still have vesting options for 2016-18 that depend on him having 500 PA in the previous season. Utley would likely be a huge addition for the team but he is also one of the better players on the Phillies and they do not have a younger player looking to push him out just yet, even at 35 I do not see the Phillies moving him unless they are completely lost by the trade deadline. Another player could be Nick Franklin of the Mariners and there is some intrigue here as the Mariners need help but Nick Franklin doesn't have a lot of history because he is a prospect and I do not really know what the Mariners are going to want for him, probably a similar player but the Yankees do not really have a good prospect who is stuck behind a solid major league starter and other than that I have no idea what they will want, especially in April. Other than these guys its still way too early to talk about a possible trade for anyone and honestly its too early to talk about a trade for these guys either but I did it anyway. The Yankees will need to make a move eventually though as they cannot expect Solarte to keep playing this well, it just likely will need to be later this year.
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