Ryan Garcia
It’s been a grim summer for the New York Yankees, a line that could be copied and pasted onto any article between June and July seemingly every year.
Despite this abhorrent stretch of baseball that has seen the club lose plenty of ground in the division and even on their grip on the top Wild Card spot, I fully expect New York to buy at the trade deadline.
Brian Cashman’s reputation in the public is vastly different from reality; he’s often one of the easiest executives to deal with and for that reason, tends to get deals done with rival clubs frequently.
He will be at it once again this summer once the 2026 MLB Draft concludes, where the long-time executive could have more than just prospects at his disposal when making some key deals that will decide the fate of his 2026 Yankees.
READ MORE: Would the Yankees be interested in trading for Luis Arraez?
Where Can the Yankees Turn a Logjam Into a Trade Chip?
The Yankees lack some offensive firepower and could strengthen their rotation as well, but the club has some extra pieces on its big-league roster who could be of value on the market.
Anthony Volpe is a prime candidate for a new destination, perhaps needing a smaller market or to just play somewhere that will be more forgiving of his mistakes than the New York market.
In a series where the club desperately needed to win games to stay in the AL East race, the Yankees opted to sit Volpe for three of four games against the Rays.
Whether the Yankees still have faith in their former first-round pick or not can be seriously brought into question based on their usage of him, but the league seems to value him more than the fanbase does.
Sources tell Empire Sports Media that Anthony Volpe drew some trade interest during the 2025 deadline despite his suspect defensive play and labrum injury that later turned out to require a serious operation to repair.
Perhaps a team like the Minnesota Twins, who are last in DRS at shortstop (-12), would be interested in trading for a defensive-minded shortstop who would come at little-to-no financial cost.
The Yankees are interested in acquiring a right-handed catcher according to numerous reports, with Ryan Jeffers profiling as a perfect option for the team.
Minnesota’s offense has exploded without Jeffers, and the club has shown an affinity for these MLB-for-MLB swaps with the team trading Griffin Jax for Taj Bradley last summer.
Bradley produced a 4.86 ERA from 2023-2025 and the Rays didn’t know if they could unlock the seemingly sky-high ceiling he possessed, but the Twins have turned him around.
Could the Yankees offer Anthony Volpe and a prospect to land Ryan Jeffers, giving the Twins a shot to win the AL Central while also cashing in on their free-agent-to-be?
Another player who could be of interest to clubs is Will Warren, who was originally a player the Cincinnati Reds were intrigued by when Luis Castillo was available for trade in 2022.
He’s looked more like a no. 3-4 starter than a potential frontline pitcher, someone who can help you get through the 162-game season but not make a meaningful playoff start when October rolls around.
This was the Yankees’ perception of Jordan Montgomery in 2022, whom they dealt for Harrison Bader to improve their defense in centerfield once it was clear that Aaron Hicks had lost his step at that position.
A team such as the San Francisco Giants, who have controllable pieces who they could move, might make a good deal of sense for this kind of trade.
We reported yesterday that the Yankees have interest in Casey Schmitt, whom Buster Posey would prefer to keep but may not have a lane for in the infield due to the slew of massive contracts they’re tied to.
Bryce Eldridge has emerged as an option at 1B/DH, Rafael Devers is a 1B/DH under club control through the rest of the decade, and the same is true for 3B Matt Chapman and SS Willy Adames.
The Giants are a league-average offense so far with a 100 wRC+ but are 24th in SP ERA (4.61); Could trading Schmitt for Warren give both organizations a controllable option at a position of need?
The Yankees will wrap up their draft work this weekend, and the focus will turn exclusively onto who the team can land at this year’s deadline to improve their roster.
It’s technically unclear whether they will 100% buy or sell, but with the American League being as poor as it currently is, the 5-15 death spiral has somehow kept them as heavy favorites to qualify for the postseason.
New York barely clung to its playoff spot during the summertime of last season after an active deadline and finished with 94 wins; does this team have it in them to do the same?
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