The New York Yankees have a competitive position battle unfolding in the outfield, which has opened up the potential for a trade. Veteran outfielder Mike Tauchman could fit the bill, especially with the emergence of Jay Bruce and the retention of Brett Gardner. This spring training, Tauchman is hitting .269 with three homers and four RBIs. He has looked good over 29 plate-appearances but struggled in 2020 during the abbreviated campaign.
Last year, Mike hit .242 with zero homers and 14 RBIs, striking out 23.4% of his at-bats and recording his first negative WAR since 2018.
SNY’s Andy Martino stated that the Yankees have been fielding offers for OF Mike Tauchman:
The Yankees have been receiving trade interest in outfielder Mike Tauchman, and are valuing him at his 2019 levels of production, according to league sources.
The most interesting aspect of this proposal is that the Yankees are valuing him based on his 2019 production when he hit .277 with 13 homers and 47 RBI’s, his best season by far over four years. Of course, the Yankees are looking at him at his peak, so they can try and extract as much value as possible. If I were an alternative club, I would be averaging out the 2019 and 20 seasons, looking at him in more of a realistic light.
The concept of trading Tauchman makes sense, especially with a plethora of OF options — Bruce, Derek Deitrich, etc.
Bruce started off the spring looking like a sure-fire active roster invite but has since tumbled back down to earth, currently hitting .194 with two homers and three RBIs. Last season, Bruce produced similar numbers in terms of average, landing at .198 with six home runs and 14 RBIs with the Philadelphia Phillies. The one positive that Bruce does bring to the team as he is historically a double-digit HR hitter, and we know how the Yankees love acquiring players that produce in that category.
Deitrich, on the other hand, is hitting .167, far worse than Bruce, with vastly less slugging production. I feel as though we can confidently say that Dietrich will likely not make the roster, but Bruce is teetering on the edge. I could see the Yankees sticking with Tauchman and letting both go or retaining one of them to their minor-league site.