The Yankees Are Plague By Injuries But Shouldn’t Panic At The Trade Deadline
The Yankees have a lot of injuries right now. Cody Bellinger went on the injured list yesterday. He joined Arron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt there. That is a lot of injured and talented players. While it is true we do not know when stars like Judge and Stanton will be back, the team does not need much.
The Major League Baseball trading deadline is one week from today. With all their injuries, there are calls for the Yankees to make a lot of trades to fill the holes. As per usual, the team is linked to just about every big name out there, but they should not mortgage their future this year trying to fill holes via the trade market. Do you agree with this strategy?
The Yankees and What They Should Do at the Trade Deadline.
It is a popular sentiment that the Yankees should make many trades at the non-waiver trading deadline next Monday. They have a lot of significant injuries, and the American League is weak, and with their pitching, they could be the favorite to win the pennant. However, the team has clear needs and should not overreact at the trading deadline. What are the needs?
The Yankees need a right-handed hitting catcher. Their catchers, except for Ali Sanchez, are all left-handed. None of them are hitting, the recent hot streak of Austin Wells notwithstanding. They are likely to pay for a player like Ryan Jeffers or Hunter Goodman.
The team could also use two more players. The Yankees should require a low-grade bullpen arm, not Mason Miller, that pitching coach Matt Blake thinks he can fix. The team should also acquire one more power hitter, like Rafael Devers, as an insurance policy against Judge and Stanton not coming back.
Team General Manager Brian Cashman and Manager Aaron Boone likely think that all the injured players will come back, just in time for the playoffs, and their doing so is like acquiring talent via the trade deadline. Rodon and Schmidt coming back not only make the Yankees’ starting rotation much stronger, but also strengthen the bullpen, as extra starters can go there. This is all not to mention Luis Gil. If he comes back healthy, his stuff is electric, and he plays well in the bullpen.
Arron Judge should be back for the end of the season. There will not be the grind of the regular season weighing on him, so he should be fresh. The same could be said for Giancarlo Stanton, who we have not heard much about. Now, the team will also get Cody Bellinger back. He should be back pretty soon, as he has been running since his injury.
The Cost
The Yankees do not have a lot of minor league talent to trade away. The team has a glut of outfielders and would likely prefer to trade Spencer Jones, and maybe Jasson Dominguez as well. The team also has great starting pitching, and so could probably afford to deal away some prospective starting pitchers. That should be enough for the team to acquire what it needs.
The Yankees should avoid trading away mega prospect George Lombard Jr. The team should also avoid trading away prospects who are relatively new and we know little about. Names that fall into this category are Dax Kilby and Karsten Kent. The big arms of Carlos LaGrange and Elmer Rodriguez should also be off limits.
Conclusion
The non-waiver trading deadline in Major League Baseball is Monday, August 3. There will be calls, there already are, for the Yankees, with all of their injuries, to make a bunch of big trades to fill the gaps. However, this article argues that the team will get injured stars back, does not need much, and should not leverage its future to trade for stars.
