Would you trade Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez right now for Chris Sale?

Joe and Evan had Jon Heyman on this afternoon and were discussing the Yankees youth movement when the idea of trading for Chris Sale came about.  Joe was vehemently against dealing either Judge OR Sanchez for Sale while Heyman claimed he'd make that move if he were the Yankees in a nanosecond.  Evan was somewhere in the middle.  For me, as appealing as it would be to employ the best pitcher in the American League for the next 3+ years while paying him half of what he ought to be making, I can't part ways with these kids right now.  The Yankees aren't an ace away from contending.  They aren't a big time starting pitcher away from making a run to the World Series.  They have a LOT of holes to fill before they can get back to the top and two of the most glaring ones would be those left by Sanchez and Judge if they were shipped off for a pitcher.  If those two reach their potential the impact they would have on the team would be exponentially more valuable than that of any big time starting pitcher.  That's a Snapple Fact.

Is Chris Sale a generational talent?  You could say that.  But I'd be lying if I said I could watch him and his lanky frame herk and jerk and gyrate all over the place without wondering when his elbow is going to explode into a thousand pieces.  As Joe was saying this afternoon, that's just the way it is now with pitchers.  EVERYONE gets hurt.  Pretty soon Tommy John surgery is gonna be like getting the chicken pox vaccine before you're allowed to join a major league roster.  Not only is a starting pitchers impact limited to 33 games or so in a fully-healthy regular season, it can all vanish in one fell swoop.  Look at Kershaw this year.  The guy was just pitching one day and all of the sudden he's fucking paralyzed.  It's like final destination with these guys.

My philosophy, especially with pitchers, is stockpile talent, see who flames out/dies from elbow surgery and take the rest.  Just randomly acquire as many good arms as you can and hope to fill out a rotation and there are smarter ways to do that than trade your two best offensive prospects.