Yankees Would Land Miami Lefty Reliever For Pair of Prospects in Trade Idea

The New York Yankees bullpen is still in need of left-handed depth. In fact, as of this week, the defending American League champions do not have a single left-handed pitcher in their relief corps, leaving manager Aaron Boone handcuffed when it comes to countering lefty hitters. Starters Max Fried and Carlos Rodon are currently the only southpaws on the entire Yankees pitching staff.

The Yankees have been reportedly dancing around the idea of reacquiring 34-year-old Tim Hill, a lefty journeyman who was released by the Chicago White Sox on June 18 last season, only to sign with the Yankees two days later. He appeared in 35 games with New York, posting a 2.05 ERA in 44 innings there after a disastrous 5.87 ERA in 27 innings for Chicago.

But “Fireside Yankees” podcast host and writer for Empire Sports Media Ryan Garcia proposed an idea on Wednesday that he said would fit the Yankees better than Hill. According to Garcia’s trade pitch, the Yankees would send two of their better prospects to Miami in exchange for Marlins 26-year-old lefty Andrew Nardi.

The Marlins’ 2019 16th-round draft pick out of Arizona comes off a season when he posted a bloated 5.07 ERA, but according to an analysis by Garcia, Nardi’s underlying advanced metrics suggest that “Nardi wasn’t much different than he was last year when he posted a 2.67 ERA, he just ran into some less fortunate luck and underperformed. The Yankees are more focused on how a pitcher manages contact and their K-BB percent, not their ERA, and Nardi would fit them like a glove.”

In 2024, Nardi’s strikeout percentage was an impressive 33.3 percent against a solid 8.6 percent walk rate. That translates to a K-BB percentage figure of 24.8 percent — the best of his three-year career.

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As for how he manages contact, according to Statcast Nardi’s hard-hit ball rate of 34.7 percent ranked him a respectable 70th out of the 366 pitchers tracked by the system in 2024, putting him in the 81st percentile.

In return under Garcia’s trade proposal, the Yankees would ship out catcher Rafael Flores, a 2022 undrafted signee from Rio Hondo Junior College in Whittier, Calif. After an “underwhelming” first couple of years to his minor league career, according to the Yankees SB Nation site Pinstripe Alley, in 2024 “Flores became a top-echelon breakout and legitimate prospect after hitting .279/.379/.495 between High and Double-A.”

New York would also send the Marlins its current No. 12 overall prospect, pitcher Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, who was acquired in a trade from the Boston Red Sox in December. The lanky righty has steadily gained fastball velocity since the Red Sox drafted him at age 17 in 2021. His heater topped out at 98 mph last April.

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