MLB Rumors: Kyle Tucker extension, Cardinals trade bait, Yankees-Cease update

Yankees are still after Dylan Cease in the 11th hour

It was presumed that the New York Yankees were done adding to their starting rotation after they signed Marcus Stroman, slapping him into a core that also features Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, and Clarke Schmidt.

After speculation that New York was an unlikely landing spot for the 2023 NL Cy Young winner due to their rotation looking finalized, a new report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today indicates the Yankees are still in on Cease.

“The New York Yankees are still open to acquiring Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease, but they refuse to part with prized outfield prospect Spencer Jones.”

While that may be surprising on the surface, it shouldn’t be viewed as bad news for the Yankees rotation. Rodon struggled with injury all throughout last year and there is no guarantee he can be a steadily available piece of the starting five. Cortes was injury-laden last year as well, though the average sentiment around his potential moving forward is one of optimism.

Clarke Schmidt came around last year, but started slow as he transitioned from a relief to starter role.

A sixth starter may seem superfluous right now, but don’t be shocked if the Yankees find themselves truly in need of one for most of the season due to injuries or even having to move one of their pitchers to the bullpen. Remember, Schmidt has historically been a relief pitcher, and Marcus Stroman also moved to the Cubs bullpen last year when he returned from an injury.

New piece of Cardinals trade bait emerging

Mark Feinsand reports that Dylan Carlson was a trade piece discussion along with Tyler O’Neill, who was ultimately traded, in his latest for MLB.com:

“St. Louis received interest from multiple teams earlier this winter, though the Cards ultimately dealt O’Neill instead. Carlson broke in with a solid rookie season in 2021 (18 home runs, .780 OPS in 149 games), but he has struggled since, hitting 13 homers with a .680 OPS in 204 games in 2022-23).”

Both O’Neill and Carlson have struggled to break into the regular starting rotation largely due to injury. In September, Carlson went under the knife for an ankle surgery and hit the 60-day IL, ending his season. He gained his starting role when O’Neill was out and then oscillated between the bench and outfield starting lineup.

As a fielder, he’s average with good arm strength, and his batting is a bit too small to glean anything too conclusive from. That said, he tends to be a low-strikeout batter, but a soft-hitting tendency keeps him from putting up good numbers at the plate.

For that reason, it’s difficult to see the Cardinals getting an incendiary return for Carlson, but fans can dream.

As it stands, Carlson will come off the bench behind Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman, and Jordan Walker left to right, with his most frequently played outfield spots being center and right. Until traded, he’ll have opportunities to come off the bench or to start games on off days for Edman and Walker.

Kyle Tucker on path for an extension with Astros

The Houston Astros have been so close to bursting through the “dynasty” mark, winning two World Series in the last seven years and becoming a mainstay in the Championship and World Series rounds of the playoffs every year in between.

But now is where building gets difficult, because the affordable contracts the Astros have built around are becoming not so any more. Houston would love to hold onto its core players who have contributed to recent playoff success, but it won’t be cheap.

At times this offseason there have been concerns that the Astros wouldn’t be able to hold onto Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman. Astros General Manager Dana Brown has recently been discussing extensions and trying to quell the panic, letting everyone know that the organization is doing everything it can to right the franchise as far as extensions go. The team already locked up Altuve. Next is Bregman, but the team is also looking at another bat: Kyle Tucker.

Brown admitted that Kyle Tucker is firmly in-view as an extension candidate (to MLB Network Radio, H/T MLB Trade Rumors) for the Houston Astros, who are frantically trying to keep its stars in-house as they come close to hitting the open market.

Tucker made his second ever and consecutive All-Star team last year, was fifth in MVP voting, and batted in an AL-leading 112 RBI in 2023. His OPS+ hit a nearly career-high 142 and he bagged just short of 300 bases.

At 27, Tucker is the youngest of the trio between he, Bregman, and Altuve, so he may wind up being the most important extension for Houston as far as dollars per impact go.

This article was originally published on fansided.com as MLB Rumors: Kyle Tucker extension, Cardinals trade bait, Yankees-Cease update.