The trade deadline is still two months away, and the New York Yankees likely won’t be making any big trades for at least another eight weeks, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t holes on this roster.
We’ve played through about a quarter of the season, giving us a better understanding of the strengths and flaws of this iteration of the Yankees.
Despite some key injuries and departures in the offseason, this team is extremely well-rounded and has a roster that’s more than capable of going on a deep playoff run.
Good teams should add at the deadline and further improve their odds of winning a World Series, but where should Brian Cashman be looking to upgrade this roster and which players fit this team best?
The Yankees (Still) Need To Add An Infielder
If DJ LeMahieu’s hot start to the season holds up, the need for a third baseman may not be as great, but I still consider it a hole until I get an extended stretch of excellent play from the veteran. Oswald Peraza has been disappointing, but not because of his bat, but because he has a -2 OAA through the first quarter of the season and makes some pretty brutal errors.
Jorbit Vivas isn’t a consistent enough hitter to be a full-time starter, and his glove at third base shouldn’t be relied upon as he’s a better defender at second base. I don’t view these three as the future of the third base position at the moment, so what should the Yankees be targeting at the hot corner?
As third basemen, the Yankees have combined for a 68 wRC+ and -0.2 fWAR, which are bottom five in the entire sport, and the -3 OAA stands out to me as the big issue. The Yankees have hit in spite of the contributions (or lack thereof) at third base, but I do think they’ve lost entire baseball games on shaky defense at the position.
Losing Oswaldo Cabrera hurts because, while he had a stretch of brutal throwing errors, the back of the baseball card indicated that he would be a strong defender there who could help his pitcher out.
With the Tampa Bay Rays off to a slow start, I wonder if they would be willing to trade Ha-Seong Kim at this year’s deadline.
The Yankees are 25th in BsR, 20th in OAA, and 26th in Zone Contact%, while Ha-Seong Kim brings an elite baserunner, a Gold Glove defender, and one of the best contact hitters in the game.
Coming off of shoulder surgery, he has yet to play a single game in 2025, but he should be starting a rehab assignment in the FCL this weekend. If all goes well, he could rejoin the Rays at some point in June and get 4-5 weeks to get himself rolling at the plate with his patient eye and brilliant defense.
With +9 DRS and +2 OAA in a little under 600 innings at third base, he would immediately contend for a Gold Glove if he played a full season there.
He is one of the best infield defenders in the game, and with the Rays’ playoff odds sitting at 2.2% entering play today, they project to be sellers at the deadline.
Ha-Seong Kim is a free agent at the end of the year if he opts out of the second year of his contract, valued at $16 million. I think the bar for opting out isn’t incredibly high, as if he’s healthy for Opening Day in 2026 and has a productive 2025, he could command a 3-4 year deal valued at $50-60 million.
Kim shouldn’t cost an arm-and-a-leg on the trade market, and his versatility gives the Yankees insurance at second, short, and third, which is important given how quickly a season-altering injury can occur.
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Bolstering an Improving Rotation Even Further
The Yankees’ rotation has gone from crimson red on the concern meter to more of a greenish yellow. Will Warren has turned things around, and Ryan Yarbrough has provided solid outings in his two turns through the rotation.
Luis Gil is the big piece everyone’s waiting on, but JT Brubaker coming back isn’t nothing either, so they’ll have two starters to add to the roster by the All-Star Break if everything goes to plan.
I think the rotation has enough talent that if you asked them to get through a postseason, they absolutely could, but I’m sure they’ll hold up for a full 162-game season.
An ace would be great, but the options are slim, and other teams with better farm systems will be better-positioned to outbid the Yankees for top-tier talent.
Finding a number three or number four starter would be fine in my opinion, and Nick Martinez serves as a great option to target at the deadline.
This season, Nick Martinez has a 3.66 ERA and a 3.20 FIP across 51 innings pitched, and since the Reds moved him to the rotation last August, he has a 2.97 ERA and 16.3% K-BB%.
He doesn’t possess a power fastball or dominant strikeout stuff, but his command is brilliant, and the damage prevention is otherworldly.
To possess a sub-1.00 HR/9 while pitching half of your games at the Great American Ball Park is impressive, and it’s thanks to his deep and unpredictable repertoire.
Martinez features six pitches, using all of them at least 10% of the time and never above 22.2% of the time. He’s done a brilliant job of mixing up his repertoire, a skill that’s become even more valuable in a game where hitters have access to tools that can perfectly simulate pitch movement and arm angles.
The Fordham alum can move the ball in a variety of different ways, and in his time as a starter, he’s pitched like a number two (even though I project him as more of a 3 or 4).
A free agent at the end of the season, a mediocre Reds team that’s stuck in a loaded National League might be willing to deal Martinez away for prospect capital, especially since he won’t be eligible for the Qualifying Offer this winter.
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The Yankees Are Always Going To Add Relievers At the Deadline
The Yankees always acquire bullpen support at the deadline, regardless of their contention status or if they’re bullpen is elite or not. Even in 2016, Brian Cashman found a way to trade for a reliever while selling, landing Adam Warren as part of the package they received for Aroldis Chapman.
Keynan Middleton was their lone MLB addition at the 2023 deadline, a pitcher who actually looked really good in his lone stint with the Bombers.
Last season, it was Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel De Los Santos, and this year, I think they’re going to acquire whoever they can add, regardless of handedness.
While Tim Hill is their lone lefty specialist, so many pitchers possess either a changeup or splitter, which means their righties are usually equipped with the weapons needed to vanquish an opposite-handed threat.
Yennier Cano has hit the skids lately, but the stuff is still really good, and honestly, I would just love to see what Matt Blake would dial up for someone with a sinker like his.
The changeup has lost a couple of inches of drop and is getting crushed, which is the real problem here, but I already see some solutions here.
His slider is gross and has been unhittable early on, throwing it righties only might be limiting the upside of this pitch, considering it has excellent vertical depth and has firm velocity.
Cano also has a four-seamer and cutter he’s flashed, and while neither pitch has particularly impressive shapes right now, I also wonder if the Yankees could fine-tune anything there.
If the Yankees found a way to get Yennier Cano to be 80% of what he was in 2023, this could be a truly dominant bullpen, and he’s got multiple years of control.
This would be so much fun if he were good. Jonathan Loaisiga, Yennier Cano, Devin Williams, and Luke Weaver would give this team the juice it needs on the pitching side to go from pretty good to utterly dominant.