The Yankees are dealing with significant injuries in the outfield, as Clint Frazier is dealing with a neck issue, and Ryan LaMarre suffered a hamstring injury on Wednesday evening, forcing him to leave Corey Kluber’s no-hitter. Giancarlo Stanton is rehabbing a quad strain, and Aaron Hicks is out for the foreseeable future.
That is four outfielders the Yankees are currently progressing on without, and while some of them could return in the short term, they have already begun scouring the market for potential trade options.
The latest name to bubble to the surface is Texas Rangers OF Delino DeShields Jr. After spending the 2020 season with the Cleveland Indians, DeShields signed a minor-league contract with the Rangers this past off-season. He hasn’t experienced any major league action this year but was serviceable for Texas in 37 games last season. He’s not much of a slugger but offers decent contact hitting and solid defense.
Yankees talking to Rangers about trade for outfielder Delino DeShields Jr., sources tell @TheAthletic. DeShields off to good start at Triple A with Texas – .412/.500/.706 in 40 plate appearances. Yankees OFers Hicks, Stanton, LaMarre on IL, Frazier dealing with stiff neck.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 21, 2021
In minor league play, DeShields is hitting .412 over 40 play appearances, representing a small sample size but quality offense. He’s not going to hit double-digit home runs for the Yankees, but he can get on base and offers adequate defense while they wait for some of their regular starters to return.
Currently, the Yankees have Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner, Miguel Andujar and have even utilized Tyler Wade in right field. Considering Judge has already missed time this year and experience his regular rest days, the Yankees need to be extremely careful with how they manage their outfield right now. Frazier could be back within the next few days, but it’s always justifiable to expect the worse when it comes to the Yankees and injuries.
The Bombers do have Greg Allen and Socrates Brito at the Triple-A level, but DeShields is far more reliable offensively than either of those two options. They wouldn’t have to offer much to acquire the DeShields, who is currently hovering at the minor-league level. I believe this would be a positive scenario for New York, as the Yankees could probably acquire him for cash considerations.