New York Yankees Mock Trade: Mariners Edition

Marco Gonzales, New York Yankees

The New York Yankees have had issues with pitching, and it’s cost them big in games. In the midst of back to back sweeps, the Yankees need to make a move. They have a lot of prospects they can look to move and potential trade ideas so they can make a playoff push. With Aaron Judge back on the IL, it’s time for the team to step up and get it done without their heaviest hitters, and getting some fresh faces could be a big help. A potential trade partner for the Yankees would be the Seattle Mariners, who could give them interesting pieces that could give them some stability while they nurse injuries. 

Potential Pieces on the Table

The New York Yankees would have Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier, and Michael King as trade chips. While they have more pieces, they’re only going to go to them if they need to. Seattle has the one interesting starter Marco Gonzales who the Yankees have been eyeing for quite sometime. He’s a workhorse who eats up innings and isn’t the flashiest of starters but gets the job done. With his four year $30 million dollar extension, he’s also dirt cheap. This crafty lefty saw a blip in his peripherals last year due to a spike in walks, but he seems to have his control back like in 2018. He would be the main piece in this trade, but could there be another piece the Yankees could try to land from them?

Looking At Kyle Seager

The Yankees infield is usually loaded, but with injuries putting their dynamic middle infield duo out of action, they could use an infield bat. While Kyle Seager is a career 3B, he has struggled this year at 3B while Urshela has gotten better defensively. Seager’s been crushing the ball this year, and he swings it from the left side, giving him a lot of use in this lineup. Playing him over Wade at 2B could be huge for the lineup, and when everyone’s healthy again, he can still start, which I’ll get to later. His .379 xwOBA and 137 wRC+ show that he’s a very good bat, and he could light it up here.

Putting Together a Good Deal

This deal would be a big one, and it would be pricey, but the Yankees would be getting a very good bat in that lineup and some pitching help.

Mariners receive: 3B Miguel Andujar, RHP Luis Gil, RHP Michael King, and SS Oswald Peraza.
Yankees receive: 3B Kyle Seager, LHP Marco Gonzales, RHP Carl Edwards Jr.

The Yankees would get their starter, a nice bullpen arm in Edwards Jr. who has seemed to get his control issues down, and a great bat in Kyle Seager. The Mariners would no longer have to pay Seager, would get a replacement at 3rd for the short term at least with Andujar, two good pitchers in Luis Gil and Michael King, and a really good defensive and speedy prospect in Oswald Peraza.

New York Yankees Revamped

The New York Yankees lineup and rotation (with injuries) would obviously be significantly improved, and this is how it would stack up right now:

  1. Gerrit Cole
  2. Masahiro Tanaka
  3. Marco Gonzales
  4. Jordan Montgomery
  5. Opener/JA Happ

That rotation isn’t great, but it’s certainly better than having Happ as a for sure starter every five days. The lineup is where you’d see an immediate impact:

  1. Luke Voit 1B (R)
  2. Kyle Seager 2B (L)
  3. Gio Urshela 3B (R)
  4. Aaron Hicks CF (S)
  5. Gary Sanchez C (R)
  6. Mike Tauchman RF (L)
  7. Clint Frazier DH (R)
  8. Brett Gardner LF (L)
  9. Thairo Estrada SS (R)

With the Bronx Bombers at full health, the rotation would boot out Happ for James Paxton, giving the Yankees a nice rotation. The lineup is again where there’s the biggest difference.

  1. DJ LeMahieu 2B (R)
  2. Aaron Judge RF (R)
  3. Kyle Seager DH  (L)
  4. Luke Voit 1B (R)
  5. Giancarlo Stanton LF (R)
  6. Gleyber Torres SS (R)
  7. Gary Sanchez C (R)
  8. Aaron Hicks CF (S)
  9. Gio Urshela 3B (R) 3B

This lineup is…unfair levels of good. You have Frazier and Tauchman off of the bench to play on off day, and you have an elite left-handed bat in Kyle Seager ready to spring into action. There is not one hole in that lineup, and if there are injuries, you have a ton of insurance.

I think this trade would make the Yankees division favorites again, and they could win the World Series with that roster.