By Cary Greene
March 4, 2025
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One question that's on everyone's mind is -- Should the Yankees Trade for Nolan Arenado?
With in-house candidates like DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Perazza and Oswaldo Cabrera all jockeying for pole position for the Yankees vacancy at third base, it's little wonder that since "I don't know" is presently playing third base for the Yankees, that Arenado's name has come up so much this winter.
Considering Giancarlo Stanton's elbow issues and Arenado's decline, whatever the Yankees plan is at third base will have far reaching ramifications over the first half of the season. Thus far this offseason, Cashman has made no attempt to trade for a third baseman and he certainly has been prohibited by Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner to sign another pricy free agent, which accounts for the Yankees letting Alex Bregman sign with the Red Sox.
Projection services, like Fan Graphs and others attempt to quantify the cast of characters whose names are in the hat for the starting job at third base in the Yankees infield. Here are the Fangraphs projections for those involved:
Player A: .300 wOBA/95 wRC+/.245 AVG/.325 OBP/.350 SLG/.674 OPS ---- 2024 @ 3B = 5 OAA / -2 DRS / 1.0 fWAR
Player B: .302 wOBA/96 wRC+/.241 AVG/.301 OBP/.391 SLG/.602 OPS ---- 2024 @ 3B = 1 OAA / 7 DRS / 1.3 fWAR
Player C: .298 wOBA/94 wRC+/.233 AVG/.303 OBP/.375 SLG/.678 OPS ---- 2024 @ 3B = 0 OAA / 0 DRS / 0.7 fWAR
Player D: .320 wOBA/107 wRC+/.260 AVG/.318 OBP/.424 SLG/.741 OPS ---- 2024 @ 3B = 9 OAA / 6 DRS / 3.2 fWAR
Player A is DJ LeMahieu and what is clear from a glance at the stat sheet is that he's projected for a bounce back type of season to a degree. He's valuable in the field, but let's face it, he's at best a bench piece on a World Series contender. He can't run the bases and if he can't hit for average or power, he's not all that valuable at the hot corner. That said, his projected OPS is in another realm compared to Oswaldo Cabrera - who has a bit more pop and more athleticism but he can't hit for average and he doesn't get on base.
Player B is Oswaldo Cabrera, who is at best a bench piece who is average (at best) on the bases, has a little pop but because he can't put the bat on the ball, he's the 26th man at best on most teams in MLB.
Player C is Oswald Peraza and he's projected to be another can't get on base, can't put the bat on the Major Leaguer who might have a tiny bit more pop than LeMahieu and who offers more offensive upside overall than Cabrera. His value in the field, based on the projections, is unknown at this point but the eyeball test says he'll be very valuable. Can you see where I'm going with this so far?
My assessment is that the Yankees should absolutely use Peraza as the primary utility player this season. They should also teach him both center field and left field, as I've said for years now. Peraza's value is that of a super utility player and he is vastly more athletic than LeMahieu. He's got a cannon for an arm and he's a burner on the base paths. I'll come out and say it -- he needs to play. Now is his time. That said, he's not a starting player on a World Series team. Right now, he's a bench piece, a super utility player who has been mismanaged to date by the Yankees. Scouts I know say he's never been anything other than this by the way and I've been writing this for a long time because it's been plainly obvious that the Yankees have overhyped him every step of the way. Some here on SSTN have disagreed with me over the years on this but I stand firm on my valuation of Peraza.
Considering all of this, there are only two options that I see as viable. (1) The Yankees could use LeMahieu as the everyday third baseman and keep Cabrera in reserve, with Peraza backing him and Chisholm up, while also playing some late game right field --or-- (2) they could trade for a fading but vastly better than anyone they have Arenado.
Given Stanton's elbow issue and acknowledging that Arenado is three times better than any in-house option the Yankees have, trading for him is pretty much a no brainer. If you haven't figured it out, Arenado is Player D above!
I don’t want Donaldson 2.0 for 3 more years. If Arenado was another one year deal like Goldy, I’d sign up immediately.
But since he’s not, I would give the kids a shot, Arenado can be a fall back option in a few months if they all fail miserably at third. I’d rather start with a platoon of Cabrera & Peraza and hope for the best!
Got news for you. This is not a WS team. They are vastly worse offensively than last season.
Yankees learn the hard way..... 3B will be an issue all year with the fans!
I can live with I Don't Know on third a lot more easily than last year, when we had I Don't Give a Darn playing out of position on second.
what are the projections for Chisholm as the primary 3B?
is it easier, and less costly, to obtain greater total value if the search parameters are widened to include looking for a 2B?