Should the New York Yankees look to deal some of their assets to acquire prospects and younger players? Or, should they stay the course and hope they can make a run at the playoffs? It’s a heated debate these days, but who says they can’t do both?
Selling at the Deadline isn’t Waving the White Flag for Yankees
In all honesty, the 2016 Yankees have looked like a very average ball club through their first seventy-five games. They don’t look like a team that will go anywhere, even if they can somehow squeak into the playoffs. Despite the disappointing start to the season, the some members of the Yanks are having really, really good seasons.
It has become increasing obvious that the players having good seasons are hot commodities for the current crop of contenders. The consensus has been that if the Yankees were to trade away some of their players, they would be giving up on the 2016 season.
With that being said, the season looks like its doomed to end short of the playoffs anyway. If general manager Brian Cashman and company trade some of their hottest assets, would they be any worse off than they are now? They players being talked about as trade chips are actually players that hold positions of depth for the Bombers.
Carlos Beltran, DH/OF
The thirty-nine year-old is having an incredible season. He has been far-and-away the Yankees best offensive player. He’s hitting almost .300, and his nineteen homers are enticing to a contender looking to add an impact bat. So yes, dealing Beltran would mean that Yankees are trading away the biggest threat in the lineup right now. The other side of the coin is trading Beltran opens up a spot on the roster for the currently blocked Aaron Judge. Judge may not step in and replace Betran’s production right away, but, given his recent hot streak, he has earned a chance in the Bronx.
Potential Trade: Beltran to the San Francisco Giants for Double-A starters Adalberto Mejia and Tyler Beede.
Replacement: Judge
Aroldis Chapman, RP
Since his return from suspension, Chapman has looked like one of the elite closers in all of baseball. It’s no secret he’s also one of the hottest commodities on the market right now. The Yankees have Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances in the bullpen. Miller has shown he, like Chapman, is an elite closer. Trading Chapman would mean Miller gets the closer role back and Betances slides back to the eighth inning – a role he excelled in a year ago. If the Yankees were to trade Chapman, they would undoubtedly get a bigger return than what they gave up to acquire him in December. Trading him would mean the Yankees would have to find a reliable guy for the seventh inning and look for more distance from the starters, but the return would out-weigh those negatives.
Potential Trade: Chapman to the Washington Nationals for Triple-A second baseman Trea Turner.
Replacement: Miller
Andrew Miller, RP
The Yankees should not trade Miller. However, if they were going to, the return would likely be greater than what they could get for Chapman. Miller is signed through 2018 at nine million per year. Chapman is a free agent after this year, and likely seeking a big pay day. To acquire a proven closer like Miller (who has been the consummate teammate, even after losing his closing duties) with a team-friendly contract, a team would have to give up a lot. For that exact reason, the Yankees should entertain the idea.
Potential Trade: Miller to the Chicago Cubs for infielder Javier Baez and catcher Wilson Contreras.
Replacement: Betances
If the Yankees were to make any of these trades before the July 31st Trade deadline, I don’t think the 2016 is much worse than it is today. Are they a playoff team? Most likely not, but I think they would have as good a chance at an unlikely run as they do now. Not to mention, the team would be getting younger more promising moving forward.
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