AL East Notes: Corbin, Gleyber, Machado, Donaldson, Tulo, Eovaldi

For the time being, Patrick Corbin is pitching brilliantly for the Diamondbacks, but Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes that he could have been doing so for the Yankees. It was reported that the New York organization looked into dealing for Corbin over the winter, but Nightengale suggests that the interested was more focused than was realized at the time. It’s anyone’s guess how things will play out in the future, but Nightengale notes that Corbin is the member of a family of rabid Yankees fans. It’s not hard to connect the dots, at least speculatively, but Corbin also says he’s happy in Arizona and would be amenable to discussing a new deal during the season.

Here’s more from the AL East:

• As the Yankees get their first look at top prospect Gleyber Torres at the major-league level, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic looks at how the gifted youngster ended up in New York. (Subscription link.) Yanks GM Brian Cashman says that the organization had targeted Torres years before as an amateur. That made it all the more exciting when he was finally landed via trade.
• Rosenthal goes on to discuss a few other subjects of note, including some hypothetical trade suitors for Orioles shortstop Manny Machado. As Craig Edwards writes at Fangraphs, Machado seems to be a clear mid-season trade candidate given the O’s putrid start to the season and his pending free agency. Edwards gives the numbers on just how deep a hole the Baltimore club appears to be in, arguing the team ought to begin listening to offers even if it decides to wait and allow bidding to drive up the return for the star infielder.
• The Blue Jays have received some promising news on the health front, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports (Twitter links). Star third baseman Josh Donaldson is just one step away from a rehab assignment. That said, it’s not an insignificant one for a player whose shoulder issues created notable problems throwing across the diamond. Presently, Donaldson is long tossing, but he’ll still need to make throws on the field before he goes out to an affiliate for a tune-up. Meanwhile, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is set to begin baseball activities for the first time since undergoing heel surgery.
• There’s also progress to report for Rays righty Nathan Eovaldi, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Eovaldi, whose long-awaited return from Tommy John surgery was thwarted when he required another procedure late this spring, has already managed a 25-pitch pen session. It’s possible he could be back in the big leagues within a month or so, says Topkin, which seems like a reasonably promising prognosis for a player who has endured significant health questions. Of course, given the club’s poor start to the year, it could be that Eovaldi will be looking to pitch his way into a trade chip once he’s back.