Yankees Trade Rumors: NYY Eye Noah Syndergaard After Luis Castillo, Frankie Montas

Having made one move to boost their outfield depth, the New York Yankees appear to be focused on starting pitchers ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Cincinnati Reds right-hander Luis Castillo "seems to be" the Yankees' first choice, with Frankie Montas of the Oakland Athletics, Noah Syndergaard of the Los Angeles Angels and Jose Quintana of the Pittsburgh Pirates on their radar as well.

The Yankees made one of the first notable moves leading up to the trade deadline when they acquired All-Star left fielder Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

Adding Benintendi didn't require New York to give up significant prospect capital. The Royals received three pitchers in return (T.J. Sikkema, Beck Way, Chandler Champlain), none of whom cracked the top 10 in MLB.com's prospect rankings for K.C.

A deal for Castillo would almost certainly cost at least one significant prospect. He has another year of team control remaining and has posted a 2.86 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 85 innings this season.

Castillo did miss the first month of the season with a shoulder injury, but he hasn't had any apparent issues since making his 2022 debut May 9.

Montas, who is also under team control through 2023, had his own shoulder flare-up this month that caused him to miss two weeks. The 29-year-old has thrown eight innings in two starts since returning July 21.

Syndergaard would be a rental for the rest of this season. He signed a one-year, $21 million contract with the Angels in November. The right-hander has pitched well with a 3.83 ERA in 15 starts, but his 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings mark by far the lowest rate of his career.

Quintana, 33, is on a one-year, $2 million deal. He has posted a 3.70 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP and 85 strikeouts in 97.1 innings over 19 starts.

The Yankees have an established ace with Gerrit Cole but could use depth, especially with Nestor Cortes having already surpassed his MLB high with 101.2 innings.

New York's 67-33 record is the best mark in the American League. The Bronx Bombers trail the Los Angeles Dodgers (66-32) by percentage points for the best record in Major League Baseball.