Guardians should contact Yankees in wake of Gerrit Cole's injury

The New York Yankees were the recipients of bad news when it came to Ace Gerrit Cole. Cole is going to miss at least 1-2 months to begin the season with an elbow injury if not more. 

It would not be so bad for the Yankees if they had not missed out on the opportunity to land Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox or at least appeared willing to give up the desired compensation to sign free agent pitchers Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery. This puts New York in a state of desperation, and the Guardians should look to take advantage of that. How so exactly? By engaging in trade discussions involving Shane Bieber. 

If there was ever a time to try and get the most amount of value out of someone like Bieber, it is now. There is a ton of pressure on the Yankees this season to compete, and it is hard to do without Cole for an extended period. Floating Bieber as an option for New York is something that should be done immediately, if not already.

There is one thing to keep in mind from New York's side of things. This is less about losing Cole and more about who else they have in their rotation. The current group consists of Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Nestor Cortes, Clarke Schmidt, and Clayton Beeter. On a good day, most of this group is capable of being a middle-of-the-rotation starter, but the frequency of when that happens is not often enough for them to count on, and this is something that they should know firsthand. Knowing that they could acquire someone such as Bieber that will push these guys down in the rotation to spots where they belong while he takes over as their interim Ace and slides into their number two spot upon his return.

While this may seem like an attempt to push Bieber out the door, it is not. It is about finding a way for the organization to take advantage of an opportunity in front of them. Very rarely is a team like the Guardians in a position of power with a large market team, and it is crucial to not let it slip away without at least reaching out first. The Yankees may not be willing to overpay or at least match the requested package for Bieber, but the Guardians will never know that unless they give them a call.