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Aaron Boone during batting practice.

The first-place New York Yankees are far from a perfect team, but much of that can be attributed to injuries. If the Yankees want to win a World Series, they have to forget about those injuries and try to do whatever they can to make a trade for an ace-caliber arm and a third baseman at the deadline.

Regarding some of the players the Yankees could be interested in, Merrill Kelly of the Arizona Diamondbacks should be a name at the top of the list.

The Diamondbacks, who were expected to be a bit better entering the season, are in an unfortunate situation in the loaded National League West. They already sit 7.5 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers, and with the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants playing as well as they have, it’s only a matter of time before the Diamondbacks decide to sell.

When searching for potential trade options around Major League Baseball, Empire Sports named Kelly as an option for the Yankees, stating that while he isn’t an ace-caliber arm, he could turn into a very good pitcher for the Yankees.

“While not the frontline starter that he was during Arizona’s improbable run to the World Series in 2023, Merrill Kelly still is an effective starting pitcher who could take the ball in a postseason series…

“Luis Gil could outperform him, but you have no certainty that he’ll return and perform the way he did last season. Kelly is a strong Game 3 starter on a contender, and if the Yankees want to make him even better, they could have the veteran alter his pitch usage a bit,” Ryan Garcia wrote .

Yankees Plan on Being Aggressive at the Trade Deadline

There isn’t much of a question about what the New York Yankees will do at the trade deadline. According to a report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees fully expect to add a starter, with him saying that if there’s one thing he feels confident about, it’s that New York will add to its starting rotation.

“The one thing I feel pretty comfortable and confident about is they’ll acquire a starting pitcher,” Sherman said . “And then the question is, what exactly is available in the marketplace?

“Teams don’t want to concede, and there are some teams who are very much all-in, teetering teams who don’t want to do it,” he added, in reference to selling off starting pitchers.

With Gerrit Cole out for the remainder of the year, it’s almost impossible for the Yankees to find a pitcher of his caliber. However, Kelly has been excellent, posting a 3.78 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and striking out 64 hitters in 69.0 innings.

Diamondbacks Expected to Be Sellers

There’s a reason to believe that the New York Yankees will have an opportunity to trade for Kelly, too.

According to Ken Rosenthal, if the Diamondbacks continue to play the way they have, Kelly is expected to be available. The right-hander is set to hit the free agency market at the end of the campaign, making him an intriguing Target for contending teams like the Yankees.

“If Burnes is out, they’re likely looking at – I think – becoming a seller,” Rosenthal said . “And who to they have to sell? Well Zac Gallen is a potential free agent, Merrill Kelly the same.”

The Yankees could lose him for nothing at the end of the year, but their goal is to win a World Series, and Kelly would help them accomplish just that.

Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan