The New York Yankees have several pressing needs to address before the trade deadline on Tuesday afternoon. That is if they decide to be buyers because they are still last in the AL East and 3.5 games behind the last Wild Card spot.
Still, with Aaron Judge back, the expectation is that the Yankees at least try to make the postseason. To do that, they need to turn their attention to third base and catcher, not to mention the starting rotation and perhaps also the bullpen.
One of the most problematic areas, however, has been the outfield. It has been like that since the start of the season when general manager Brian Cashman decided to enter the 2023 campaign with Aaron Hicks as the starting left fielder.
Judge, Harrison Bader and Giancarlo Stanton are all injury-prone, and so is Greg Allen. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to bolster the unit with one or two quality bats before Tuesday. The problem is that it is a sellers’ market.
- Yankees ink depth outfielder to $5 million deal, avoiding arbitration
- Yankees expected to release Gold Glove outfielder, saving $5.7 million
- Yankees ‘considering’ 4 star players if they miss out on Juan Soto
The Yankees could look to the Mets for reinforcements
There aren’t too many open sellers, but the New York Mets are open to talk business as their season has gone even worse than the Yankees’. According to Buster Olney of ESPN, there could be a link between the Bombers and Mets.
“The Yankees and Mets have made few trades over the last 30 years, but staffers on both sides say the teams would work with each if there’s a deal to be found. That wasn’t always the case. Worth remembering with Pham, Canha available,” Olney tweeted on Monday.
With Canha being traded to the Brewers, that leaves Pham as the final option, who hosts a 127 wRC+, 10 homers and 11 steals in 264 plate appearances.
Will the Yankees strike a deal with the Mets, though? If it makes sense for both teams, they surely can get something done.