While New York Yankees fans are currently preoccupied with the Cody Bellinger-Kyle Tucker situation, the Yankees absolutely have other needs they need to address, and general manager Brian Cashman knows this.

That's why Cashman recently told reporters that acquiring more starting pitching would be a priority this winter, with both Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon slated to miss the start of 2026.

While some are anticipating that New York will sign a veteran innings-eater, the Yankees really should be swinging bigger to beef up their starting rotation, and one team could have the answer for them: the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins have a couple of pitchers in Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez who could be dealt this offseason (via ESPN's Jeff Passan), and there is no question New York should be checking in on both.

Let's start with Ryan, who just went 13-10 with a 3.42 ERA while allowing 138 hits and racking up 194 strikeouts over 171 innings of work en route to his first All-Star appearance in 2025.

Ryan logged a terrific 4.97 K/BB ratio this past season, walking just 39 batters on the year. He owns al lifetime 2.1 BB/9, and how about this: Ryan has never issued an intentional walk since entering the big leagues back in 2021. That's a pitcher with supreme confidence.

The 29-year-old has long been one of the most underrated arms in baseball, boasting a career 3.79 ERA and 1.063 WHIP while averaging 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Ryan is under team control through 2027, so the Yankees would have him for a minimum of two seasons if they swung a trade for him. He is also estimated to earn just $6 million in 2026, so he easily fits into Hal Steinbrenner's payroll.

The problem, of course, is trade cost.

Minnesota is not just going to give Ryan away, especially to New York. The Twins would certainly ask for a substantial trade package in return, but the good news is that the Yanks have enough pitching depth to put together an enticing offer.

Not only that, but the Yankees can offer up one of Jasson Dominguez or Spencer Jones in the deal to really sweeten the pot for Minnesota, which could absolutely use some offensive firepower.

This will just come down to how motivated the Twins actually are to move Ryan. Because he doesn't hit free agency until 2028, they have plenty of time to make a decision, so they could ultimately drag this out until the trade deadline next summer.

That brings us to Lopez, whose 2025 campaign was cut short due to three different injuries: a hamstring strain, a shoulder strain and a forearm strain.

Lopez hit the injured list for all three of those injuries, resulting in the right-hander making a grand total of 14 starts. During that time, he was impressive, logging a 2.74 ERA and 1.110 WHIP, but his strikeout numbers (8.7 K/9) did see a bit of a dip.

Lopez had previously had three straight seasons of making 32 starts, and outside of 2021 where he missed some time due to a rotator cuff injury, he has mostly been very durable throughout his big-league career, which began with the Miami Marlins in 2018.

Obviously, the shoulder and forearm stuff from this past year is a bit concerning. The 29-year-old didn't need any surgery, but you do have to wonder if either of those two issues will cause problems for Lopez in 2026 and beyond.

Like Ryan, Lopez is under club control through 2027, but unlike Ryan, he is on a four-year, $73.5 million deal that will pay him $21.75 million in each of the next two seasons.

While Lopez's contract status — coupled with his 2025 injury scares — should make him a bit more affordable from a trade perspective, acquiring him would also be a bigger hit to Steinbrenner's wallet, so it's a double-edged sword.

Between 2020 and 2025, Lopez has only had one campaign with an ERA of 4.00 or above, which came in 2024 when he logged a 4.08 ERA. He made the All-Star team in 2023 — his debut campaign in Minnesota — when he tallied a 3.66 ERA while racking up 234 punchouts across 194 frames.