Trade Deadline Preview

The Yankees did more than just stop the bleeding. They won the last game in Tampa and swept Washington to end the first half on a four game winning streak. With the first half and draft over, the Yankees number one priority is the trade deadline. So what do they need? Who’s available and who can we trade?

CATCHER:

The Yankees have gotten next to nothing at the plate from their catchers. Austin Wells did finally show some signs of life at the plate, but his two backups so far have been JC Escarra, a 31 year old former Uber driver, and Ali Sanchez, a journeyman who has played for five teams in parts of four seasons before joining the Yankees.

HUNTER GOODMAN-Multiple reporters have tied the Yankees to Hunter Goodman. The Rockies catcher already has 27 home runs after hitting 31 last year. While it is easy to write him off as a Coors Field merchant, his numbers are actually on the better on the road where he is slashing .282/.345/.619 compared to only .223/.301/.446 at Coors. Despite trying his hand at 1B and in the outfield, he has prove to be a good pitch blocker behind the plate. The one downside is he has a strike out rate of 32.2%.

RYAN JEFFERS AND VICTOR CARATINI-Expected to be one of the worst teams in the league before the season, the Twins surprisingly find themselves in the playoff race in a weak AL. While it seems unlikely the Twins could make a run even if they do make the playoffs, stranger things have happened. The Twins have Alex Jackson, who posted a 103 wRC+ as a back up so far, so with three catchers on the roster, they could still look to deal one. Jeffers is a free agent after the year and was off to a hot start before he got hurt. Caratini is a switch hitter and good defender. While he only has a 98 wRC+, he hits the same from both sides and the plate and is underperforming his expected stats by a bit.

ADLEY RUTSCHMAN-The Orioles could go either way at the deadline. If things go south, they could have a tough decision to make regarding the future of their former number one overall pick. Rutschman burst onto the scene with an .808 OPS in his first two seasons coming second in rookie of the year voting, making an all star game and winning a Silver Slugger. In 2024-25, he regressed posting a .696 OPS. This year Rutschman has had a resurgence posting a .763 OPS and making it back to the all star game. With Rutschman only under control for a year and a half and rookie, Samuel Basallo, extended, it is fair to wonder whether or not his long term future is in Baltimore.

SHEA LANGELIERS-The A’s have locked several members of their young core long term. All star starter Shea Langeliers isn’t one of them. He could be next but if not, the A’s can chose to cash in. Since the start of the 2025 season, he has 52 home runs and an .839 OPS while only striking out 20.7% of his plate appearances.

FRANCISCO ALVAREZ-The Mets season has been a disaster so far and Mark Healey reported that the Mets, “could surprise some people as to who they are willing to deal and to which teams they are comfortable dealing with.” Dealimg Alvarez to the Yankees would be a surprise. While Alvarez may not have lived up to the top prospect hype, he has been an above average hitter his whole career with a 105 wRC+.

BULLPEN:

The Yankees has the lowest ERA and is 7th in fWAR. So why do they need to add pieces to the pen? It is a little top heavy. David Bednar, Fernando Cruz, and Brent Headrick are a strong trio, Paul Blackburn has been an effective groundball pitcher, and Angel Chivilli has earned himself a closer look by pitching well in limited innings so far. However, Jake Bird and Camilo Doval have been disappointing, Tim Hill has regressed, and Ryan Yarbrough is only really there as a mop up guy.

HIGH LEVERAGE ARMS:

MASON MILLER/ADRIAN MOREJON-Much like the Orioles, the Padres are in a position where they could become buyers or sellers based on how they look out the gate in the second half. Miller is as dominant as they come. Since the start of the 2024 season, he has struck out 44.3% of the batters he has faced. Because the Padres gave up a top 3 prospect for him last deadline, the cost will be astronomical, but Jon Heyman referred to him as a, “dream acquisition.” Since he is a rental, Morejon is attainable. Right now, he has a 28.4% K rate, a 5.9% BB rate, and a 64.4 Groundball rate, good for 3rd in the league.

LUKE WEAVER-While the Yankees let him walk after his postseason struggles, Weaver bounced back strong and hasn’t allowed an earned run since April 30th. In the 25 games since, he has allowed just 19 base runners in 27 innings while striking out 35 batters.

MIDDLE RELIEF OPTIONS:

TYLER HOLTON (DET) and DANIEL LYNCH (KC)-both of these guys are lefty groundball pitchers much like Tim Hill but better, younger, and are under control for next year

HOGAN HARRIS, LUIS MEDINA (ATH)-Harris has established himself as the A’s closer in his 4th season in the big leagues. While his K rate is 29%, he has been a little wild. After struggling as a big leagues starter and missing all of last season hurt, Medina, who was in the ill-fated Frankie Montas trade, has emerged as a strong reliever this year with a 27.1% K rate and a 3.59 ERA. The idea of the 27 year old flamethrower returning to New York is intriguing.

RICO GARCIA (BAL)-The Yankees had him and DFAed him after one bad performance. With a 27.4% K rate and a 2.61 ERA, it is safe to say the Yankees wish they had a mulligan on that one.

KEVIN GINKEL (ARZ)-A fixture in the Diamondbacks since 2022, Ginkel has bounced back this year after a rough 2025 with a 2.84 ERA and 26.5 K rate. As a rental, he shouldn’t cost much.

TEJAY ANTONE (CIN)-Antone has an amazing story having fought back to the big leagues after multiple surgeries limited him to 7.2 major league inning from 2022-2025z While his K rate is average, he has a low walk rate and a 50% GB rate.

JIMMY HERGET (COL)-Despite pitching in the high altitude environment of Coors Field the last two years, Herget has pitched to a 2.74 ERA while striking out a shade under 9 per 9 innings.

BROOKS RALEY, AJ MINTER, AND HUASCAR BRAZOBAN (NYM)-Weaver might not be the only Mets reliever available. Minter or Raley would give the Yankees another strong potential late inning lefty relief option and Brazoban would give them a good groundball pitcher.

KIRBY YATES (LAA)-He may be 39, but Yates is still striking out 32.6% of the batters he has faced this year.

INFIELD:

The Yankees have a lot of uncertainty in the infield not just this year but next. Jazz Chisholm has underperformed and is a free agent at the end of the year. However, he does have the physical talent to make an impact. No matter how you slice it, Jose Caballero and Anthony Volpe provide average to slightly below average offense and good defense and base running. Since he is Yankee fans number one punching bag, it is probably a good idea for the Yankees and Volpe to mutual part ways after the season. At third, Ryan McMahon’s impact on defense was felt when he missed time. However, he is at best a streaky bat. They don’t necessarily need infield help with Amed Rosario providing value as a platoon and George Lombard Jr being close to MLB ready, but there are no downsides to making a move for a bat with multiple years of team control.

SPENCER STEER-Bob Nightengale has reported the Reds have been receiving offers for Spencer Steer. He has a 103 wRC+ for his career and has played every position except for shortstop and catcher in his major league.

KODY CLEMENS-DFAed by the Phillies last year, Clemens turned out to be a diamond in the rough with a .753 OPS and 35 home runs in 195 games in Minnesota. His two home runs in The Bronx opened my eyes. Now that the Yankees have another Pettitte in the organization, they could add another Clemens.

CASEY SCHMITT-While many of the Giants high priced veterans have struggled to perform and may be difficult to offload, 27 year old utility man, Casey Schmitt has a career high in OPS and home runs and a career low in K rate. Schmitt’s value might never be this high again and the Giants can look to cash in.

LUIS ARRAEZ-I have argued against acquire Arraez because in the past, he has been a one tool player. A guy that has 100th percentile contact rates and no other skills. This year, under the tutelage of Ron Washington, Arraez has played elite defense for the first time ever. I would not argue for trading Jazz and replacing him with Arraez, but isn’t outside the realm of possibilities.

ELLY DE LA CRUZ-While he is an elite shortstop and has multiple years of control left, De La Cruz has already turned down a massive contract extension. While the exact amount wasn’t reported, it was believed to be more than Joey Votto’s franchise record 10 year $225 million extension. If the Reds don’t think they can resign him, they could choose to cash in for a king’s ransom.

CJ ABRAMS-Personally, I think the Nationals are better off keeping him, but Abrams had been floating in trade talks in the offseason and those are expected to resume. Abrams lefty bat and combination of power and speed will make him a great fit in New York. He is also walking at the highest rate of his career. The one downside is he has struggled defensively and may have to eventually change positions.

STARTER PITCHERS/TARIK SKUBAL:

There is an old cliche about how you can never have too much pitching and it has rung true this year. People spent months speculating whether Ryan Weathers or Will Warren would get sent to the pen when Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon were healthy only for Max Fried to get hurt. As a result, 10 different Yankees have started. A starter could help the bullpen out too because of the ability to move Warren or Weathers to the pen. However, when healthy, we have one of the best rotations in the game. I would however bend over backwards for Tarik Skubal. While the Tigers are back in the race and it seems less likely now, the Two-time Cy Young Award winner could be the difference between a parade and a World Series or ALCS loss. There are some other starters I would consider at the right price:

CASEY MIZE-Like his teammate Skubal, Casey Mize missed some time this year. If he didn’t, he would probably be an all star with his 25.5% K rate and 2.79 ERA.

REID DETMERS-After pitching well out of the bullpen last year, the Angels moved Detmers back into the rotation. His 4.39 ERA is a full point above his expected ERA. With a 27.7% K rate and 3.35 FIP, Detmers is a good positive regression candidate. They could also move him back to the bullpen to save innings on him long term.

CLAY HOLMES-The former Yankees closer can opt out after the year. His 3.26 ERA since joining the Mets has a starter has been a pleasant surprise and one of the few bright spots these last two years. However, he is working back an injury from Holmes has signaled a willingness to sign an extension so there’s a chance he doesn’t go anywhere.

JOE RYAN-One of the lone survivors of last year’s fire sale in Minnesota, Ryan has been even better this year with a career best 2.85 ERA and a strikeout rate less than a percent off his career high. Almost sent to Boston last year, the Twins could look to move him again if they stumble out the gate in the second half.

KEVIN GAUSMAN-While Gausman has the high ERA of his Blue Jays career, he is also striking out batters at his highest rate since 2023. With his 3.59 career ERA against the Yankees, it wouldn’t hurt to have him with us instead of against us.

ASSETS AT OUR DISPOSAL:

The Yankees had a deep crop of pitchers in their farm system and it only got deeper after drafting Hunter Dietz and Sean Duncan with the first two picks. The Yankees have 18 starters in their Top 30 prospect list on Prospect Pipeline and 15 out of the top 30 on Fangraphs. With Ben Hess, Chase Hampton, Cade Smith, Jack Cebert, Xavier Rivas and Brock Selvidge (IL) at AA and Bryce Cunningham, Allen Facundo, Sean Paul Linan, Henry Lalane, Rory Fox, Pico Kohn (IL), and Luis Serna at Hudson Valley, most of them are focused in the mid minors. Spencer Jones is another name who could be on the block since Jasson Dominguez is ahead of him on the depth chart than him. I could see Anthony Volpe gathering interest. He is on pace for close to 4 fWAR and he probably isn’t a long term fit with the Yankees.

MOCK TRADES:

Jones, Hess, Kaeden Kent, and Engelth Urena for Hunter Goodman

Facundo and Hampton for Brooks Raley

Fox and Serna for Kevin Ginkel

Anthony Volpe to Atlanta for Isaiah Drake (MiLB)

This leaves our October roster looking like this:

Grisham CF

Judge RF

Rice 1B

Stanton DH

Bellinger LF

Goodman C

Jazz 2B

Lombard SS

McMahon/Rosario 3B

Bench:

Wells

Caballero

Schuemann

Rotation:

Cam

Fried

Cole

Rodon

Bullpen:

Bednar

Fernando Cruz

Headrick

Ginkel

Raley

Blackburn

Carlos Lagrange/Chivilli/Yovanny Cruz

Weathers

Warren