Deadline Moves that Make Sense for the Yankees

Deadline Moves that Make Sense for the Yankees

Late June Thoughts by Cary Greene

By Cary Greene

June 20, 2024

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This season, there are many more buyers than there are sellers as the 2024 MLB July 30th Trade Deadline approaches. In the National League, only two teams can currently be viewed as sellers (the Marlins and the Rockies), while in the American League, five potential sellers exist (the Astros, Rangers, Angels, A’s, and White Sox) with another three teetering on the brink of non-contention (Rays, Jays, and Tigers). There are seven to ten sellers in all and 14 to 17 potential buyers.

Whether or not this is good news for the Yankees remains to be seen, but the number of potential buyers does favor the Yankees using an unconventional deadline strategy consisting of both buying to fill areas of need while also selling and perhaps promoting some key prospect depth along the way.

With the recent injury to Anthony Rizzo and the subsequent promotion of rookie Ben Rice, the Yankees will be able to assess whether or not Rice is ready and if he shows he can handle platooning with DJ LeMahieu at first base, there is a chance the Yankees won’t need to trade for a first baseman. The Yankees will use the remainder of June and all of July to “see what they have” at first base and if Rice struggles, it’s possible they might even give prospects like T.J. Rumfield or Jose Rojas looks as well.

What is clear is that the Yankees will likely be on the hunt for high leverage bullpen help as the deadline approaches. Looking at what the likely deadline sellers have to offer, the team that figures to have the most deadline rumors swirling will probably be the Marlins and the Yankees will likely have high interest in their lefty closer, Tanner Scott, who I’m hoping is Cashman’s top target as the deadline approaches.

Scott, who Baseball Trade Values lists as being worth $3.6MTV and is owed the remainder of his $5.7 million deal, is in the midst of a fantastic season in which he’s sporting a 1.80 ERA and he’s already accumulated 2.8 fWAR. Though his lack of control is still his biggest detractor, Scott would be a big upgrade to any team’s bullpen and it’s likely that the Marlins will be willing to move him for the right return. The Dodgers are rumored to be highly interested in Scott and hopefully the Yankees will be even more willing to make a deal.

Perhaps the Marlin’s biggest deadline task will be to unload Josh Bell without having to pay most of the money remaining on his $16.5 million deal but I don’t see the Yankees being interested in the struggling Bell, who’s StatCast page is so bleak that I’m left unable to mention details of it! Suffice it to presume that there would be zero interest on the Yankees part in Josh Bell.

Another likely seller at this year’s deadline that has a bullpen piece that the Yankees will probably show interest in is the Angels, who will likely be fielding offers for their closer, righty Carlos Estévez. Like Scott, Estévez would be a rental player as he signed a two-year deal with the Angels back in 2022 and he’s owed the remainder of the $6.75 million that the Angels owe him for the remainder of the season.

There has already been significant buzz surrounding the A’s closer Mason Miller, who Baseball Trade Values lists as being worth $53.4 MTV due to the 5.6 years of team control attached to him. If the Yankees wanted to take a run at Miller, Spencer Jones, Chase Hampton and Will Warren would combine to offer the A’s an enticing package. Due to Miller’s significant injury history, I’m not sure it would be in the Yankees best interests to attempt to land a player who the A’s are currently and desperately trying to keep healthy as they are hoping to trade him for a maximum return.

Though it's highly unlikely that the Astros and Yankees would ever trade with one another, they are probably the last remaining deadline seller that the Yankees actually match up well with. The Astros have a plethora of good bullpen arms, from Tayler Scott to Seth Martinez and Bryan Abreu and if the Astros are looking to land some quality prospects and some starting pitching, the two teams might find it hard to resist to at least have a few conversations.

Inevitably, the Astros All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman’s name might actually come up in Yankees - Astros conversations as well. I’ve mentioned my steadfast belief that the slumping Bregman would come around and for the month of June, Bregman is batting .327 with a .903 OPS and if he continues his new found oomph at the plate, he might represent a massive boost to the Yankees lineup for the remainder of the season. It’s doubtful that Hal Steinbrenner would be interested in picking up the remainder of the $30.5 million that the Asros owe Bregman this season, but there’s no denying he epitomizes the top tier of the Trade Deadline market - both in terms of potential two-way impact and also in terms of being so pricey.

Based on the money owed to Bregman, he’s listed by Baseball Trade Values at a very reasonable $6.7 MTV so the main questions are, if the Astros were willing to listen,  would Hal Steinbrenner sign off. The Astros could shed significant 2024 payroll by trading Bregman and they could always re-sign him this offseason. Combining him with a reliever would net a pretty significant return and the Yankees have enough pitching prospects to make a deal like this work. In fact, a blockbuster even exists if the Astros wanted to part with right fielder Kyle Tucker, a lefty masher who has played some first base in the minor leagues in fact! Tucker is listed at $35.9 MTV so the Yankees best prospects would be needed to swing a true blockbuster of a trade. Imagine what the boost to the Yankees lineup would be if Bregman and Tucker both slotted in from the right and left sides respectively? On the plus side, Tucker would also give the Yankees some security if they fail to bring back Juan Soto as well.

With so many teams lining up as potential buyers, the Yankees have opportunities to move on from Jose Trevino, Gleyber Torres, and possibly DJ LeMahieu or even Giancarlo Stanton. This year’s Trade Deadline has a lot of intrigue from the Yankees' perspective and while it’s likely that the Yankees swing at least one or two trades for bullpen reinforcements, the potential exists for some wild trades to be made as well. It will be fascinating to see what Brian Cashman has up his sleeve as the deadline approaches!