With just a few hours left until the 2022 trade deadline expires, the New York Yankees are still looking to move two reserve players who can make an impact elsewhere.
Of course, the headliner is struggling slugger Joey Gallo, who voiced his displeasure about playing for the Yankees and their hostile fans recently. Gallo indicated that he’s ready to move on, and there’s nothing more he can do for the Yankees.
Moving him to a small-market team where he can excel is exactly what general manager Brian Cashman is looking to accomplish, but he will need a few low-tier prospects in return.
In addition to Gallo, the Yankees are also trying to move Miguel Andujar, who requested a trade several weeks ago and has been looking to find regular playing time with an MLB team.
The Yankees have accomplished the biggest of their main goals, with dealing Joey Gallo and Miguel Andujar still to do today. They’ve got a full day to try some pie-in-the-sky moves though; for instance they checked in on Marlins star RHP Pablo Lopez (but found the price high).
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 2, 2022
What can the Yankees get for Gallo and Andujar?
This season, Andujar has made 14 appearances with the Yankees, but after they struck gold with Matt Carpenter, they completely took him out of consideration. With Scranton, Andujar is hitting .299 with a 34.5% on-base rate, 11 homers, and 44 RBIs over 249 plate appearances.
- Yankees decline to give $21 million qualifying offer to key infielder
- Yankees retain ace on $144 million deal despite intial opt out
- Yankees and ace pitcher ‘making positive steps’ toward a contract resolution
There is legitimate value that Andujar can offer another team offensively, but he is still an underwhelming defender after making the transition to the outfield. Both Gallo and Andujar realistically have little to no value, but if the Yankees could get them back a few Single-A pitcher, similar to what they gave up for Andrew Benintendi, it would be worthwhile.
This season, Gallo is earning $10.3 million and is set to hit free agency in 2023. He’s hitting .159 with a 28% on-base rate, 12 homers, and 24 RBIs. Given his significant price tag, the Yankees would likely have to pay the majority of that contract in exchange for a prospect return.
Cashman also inquired about Miami Marlins pitcher Pablo Lopez, but the asking price was too high, per Jon Heyman. Lopez features a 3.41 ERA this season over 118.2 innings. Instead, the Yankees landed Frankie Montas to help us bolster the starting rotation ahead of the postseason.