At the MLB trade deadline in 2024, the New York Yankees may only have Option C available to them if they still want to add a starting pitcher (who isn’t Gerrit Cole).

The Miami Marlins have already shipped Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres several months ahead of planned, demonstrating their exceptional openness for business. If left-hander Jesús Luzardo hadn’t recovered from an injury to post a 5.97 ERA in six starts, that would make him the star of the trade deadline ball.

Even at Yankee Stadium, he didn’t appear nearly as attractive in person.Surprisingly gregarious from the start, the Oakland A’s have managed to hang on to third place ahead of the Houston Astros for a few more days.

However, that hasn’t stopped them from floating trial balloons for the Mason Miller trade. Everything is set for Oakland’s (Sacramento’s? Vegas’?) deadline fire sale, which makes a deal involving the alluring Paul Blackburn a compelling possibility for a team searching for length, at minimum.

Unfortunately, Blackburn has been unsteady lately, too, watching his ERA balloon from 1.08 to 4.11 in a four-start span. As A’s fans found out on Monday, there was a reason for the regression: a metatarsal stress reaction, which the righty had apparently been shrugging off since spring training. Recently, it became too much to bear.

The Oakland A’s Paul Blackburn injury timeline was made public, but it won’t assist the Yankees in making a choice.

He will be squarely on the Frankie Montas timetable of “Hmm, are we sure we believe them when they tell us he’s healthy?” after two weeks of a walking boot and examination.

When the Yankees previously made a trade deadline deal with Oakland, they learned a hard lesson from their disingenuous and disoriented leadership. This time, before it’s too late, they most definitely should.

And speaking of that last deal, when they exchanged several top prospects for Montas, it appears as if the A’s hit rate sunk a bit lower this week. While left-hander JP Sears has evolved into a nasty option (as the April 2024 Yankees can attest), the higher-ceiling pitcher the Yankees sent Oakland’s way, herky-jerky left-hander Ken Waldichuk, has unfortunately been forced to battle some fairly severe consequences.

After being held out of early action in 2024, word came down on Monday that Waldichuk will have his elbow repaired, per the recommendation of Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Elbow surgeries are, of course, more commonplace than ever in today’s (supremely messed up!) game, but you still hate to see any young pitcher succumb to a forcible 1.5-year vacation, least of all an old friend. In more ways than one, Oakland’s Monday news drop affected the New York Yankees’ leadership corps. Rarely does that consult go well (that sound you hear is Cole thanking his lucky stars once again). Waldichuk may still have a bright future ahead of him.