Pirates Targeting Yankees Top Prospect in Trade

The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees are primed to wheel and deal ahead of the July 31 MLB trade deadline.

The Pirates have what the Yankees need: starting pitching (Mitch Keller), third basemen (Ke'Bryan Hayes and Isiah Kiner-Falefa) and bullpen relief (David Bednar and Dennis Santana).

So what is it the Yankees would have to surrender in a potential deal with the Pirates?

"The most ambitious target, which would almost certainly only come in a deal that includes Keller, is switch-hitting outfielder Jasson Dominguez," the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Noah Hiles wrote Wednesday. "Rated the top prospect in the Yankees system and No. 16 in all of baseball last year by MLB Pipeline, Dominguez, 22, is off to a solid rookie year, boasting an above-average OPS and a 0.7 bWAR.

"If not Dominguez, middle infield prospect George Lombard Jr. or 6-foot-7 outfielder Spencer Jones, who hit 10 homers in his first 16 games in Triple-A, are a few other desirable targets," Hiles added. "Should the deal be centered around a rental player, or even Bednar or Santana, right-hander Cam Schlittler could be an intriguing pitching project."

Lombard, the Yankees' No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline (and No. 34 overall), is all but untouchable. The 20-year-old middle infielder is hitting .210 in 61 games with the Double-A Somerset Patriots.

Jones, 24, is perhaps the hottest hitter down on the farm. The Yankees' No. 3 prospect is hitting .408 with 10 home runs in 17 games with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

Schlitter, the Yankees' No. 11 prospect, is 1-0 with a 4.35 ERA in two starts with the Yankees. The 24-year-old right-hander landed in the Bronx after Clarke Schmidt went down with an arm injury requiring season-ending Tommy John surgery.

As for Dominguez, the 22-year-old is hitting .254 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs in 83 games this season for the Yankees.

At the end of the day, Cashman has to decide which prospects he is willing to trade in order to improve the club's roster down the stretch, and how much is too much for what the Pirates have to offer.

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