The New York Yankees are in the midst of playing some of the WORST baseball you will ever see. Seriously, if you plan on watching them, do it with your eyes closed. Also, don’t watch them at all. But read this article. The Yankees clearly need to be fixed in some way, shape, or form, and I am here to fix it. Here are three trade possibilities for the Bronx Bombers to regain some life.
First up, “Mad Max” Scherzer. He has a 2.34 ERA in 11 starts. The Nationals are bad. Scherzer is finishing out the 7th year of his big contract before he hits the free agent market in the winter. This is the prototypical situation for the Nats to trade the star pitcher. This is where the Yankees come into play. The Yankees as a whole have a 3.22 ERA on the season. That’s pretty good on the surface, but the sad reality is that it cannot be counted on to continue. Cole will continue to dominate. After that, it gets murky. Jordan Montgomery is a solid southpaw who can normally give you length and keep you in the game. Jameson Taillon has an over 5 ERA on the year, but has shown flashes of being serviceable. Corey Kluber just injured his shoulder that kept him out for all of last year, not great. Luis Severino is coming back from Tommy John Surgery and will be on an innings limit. If the Yankees are serious about contending in October, if they even make it, they will get Scherzer. Too many times in recent years the Yankees have let aces pass them by. Chris Sale to the Red Sox for prospects. He was dominant. World Series. Justin Verlander for prospects. He was dominant (albeit cheating) World Series. Gerrit Cole for prospects. He was dominant. Botched World Series. The Yankees have instead held on to prospects like Clint Frazier, who now can’t hit, or field and has no value. Miguel Andújar, who can’t field any position. Gleyber Torres, who can’t play shortstop. The Yankees have the assets to make this trade. Luis Medina, a 22 year old starter who hits a 100 would be a good starting point. How about young Deivi Garcia? Estevan Florial, a 23 year old 5 tool player? All good young options in a trade for Max Scherzer, who creates a dangerous two punch combo with Gerrit Cole come October.
The second option, which you have most definitely seen if you follow Yankees rumors on social media, Ketel Marte. I tried to find a different option for you like Starling Marte, but he wouldn’t get the job done. Joey Gallo, YEAH RIGHT BECAUSE WE NEED ANOTHER STRIKE OUT HITTER!!! Adolis Garcia is the only player that can come close to matching Ketel Marte in terms of what outfielders the Yankees should be targeting. Ketel Marte, in his career, hits for average, gets on base at a .342 clip, has played good defense, and is versatile. The last 3 years, he has had a hard hit % of over 40 each year, beating the league average of 35%. If you like baseballs instead of calculators, he hits the ball hard. Adolis Garcia has only this year of production at 28 years old mysteriously. Pitchers will adjust to him, and he will come down to earth. Ketel Marte, on the other hand, has shown for multiple years that he can hit at the major league level. The Yankees outfield is simply too bad to ignore. Clint Frazier is producing at the bottom of the league on offense and defense, with a .289 on base percentage, and – excuse me, but as I am writing this, Gary Sanchez makes at 3rd base on a ground ball in front of him. The MLB leading 27th out on the bases. Where’s Higgy? Anyway, back to Clint Frazier being bad. I mean just watch the game. Routin pop ups look impossible for the guy. Ketel Marte allows the Yankees to start Frazier/Andújar in left, basically whoever is hitting, and have Brett Gardner for late defense. Thanks for that idea, Talkin’ Yanks. This Ketel Marte acquisition would expand the Yankees depth on both sides of the ball.
The last option is Rockies Shortstop, Trevor Story. Like Scherzer, he is set to hit the open market in the winter, and like Marte, would expand depth on both sides of the ball. He gets on base, hits for average, can steal bases, and is a great fielder. This trade also has a- another pause in the article here. Gary Sanchez overthrew second base by a mile on a stolen base attempt. Then, he allowed a ball to get by him and the runner moved to 3rd. Lastly, Clint Frazier had to make an UNBELIEVABLE diving catch on a pop up. Quite the game as a write the article on how bad defense and base running is for the Yankees. ANYWAYS, the trade for Trevor Story over-populates the infield, unless Gleyber Torres is sent to Colorado in the deal. For the sake of my argument and article, let’s say he is not. That would leave the Yankees with 5 starting infielders; LeMahieu, Voit, Torres, Urshela, and Story. For my plan to work, the Yankees have to take a risk that isn’t a real risk. Put Giancarlo Stanton in left field. If you’re trotting out Clint Frazier and Miguel Andújar everyday, obviously you don’t care about defense. There also can no longer be the excuse of health, since Stanton gets hurt at DH anyway. Maybe the field will allow his muscles to get loose? I don’t know, but its time to try something different with this lifeless team. This would allow Voit to be the DH, LeMahieu to 1st, Torres to 2nd, where he belongs, Story to SS, and Urshela at 3rd.
All 3 of these options improve the Yankees dramatically. 2 out of 3 of these trades should be made, starting with the Scherzer deal. Pitching wins championships. Either Ketel Marte or Trevor Story should be a Yankee very soon to improve both offense and defense, and most importantly, my sanity.
Stats via Baseball Reference
Great article thx