The New York Yankees may be the best team in baseball. They’re also an unfinished product.
With the July 30 trade deadline approaching, general manager Brian Cashman will look to improve a roster that has already received all-world performances from Aaron Judge and Juan Soto but still hasn’t seen ace Gerrit Cole throw a single pitch in the majors.
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Here are three storylines to watch:
Will the Yankees upgrade over Anthony Rizzo?
The Yankees entered Tuesday’s game with the 23rd-best wRC+ of 86 at first base this season. Almost all of those games have seen the position occupied by Anthony Rizzo, who was benched Sunday and Monday as his struggles mount.
The average MLB first baseman this season has a 104 wRC+ and is batting .240/.317/.396 with a .713 OPS. Rizzo had a 82 wRC+ and was batting .224/.285/.339 with a .623 OPS. Manager Aaron Boone has said Rizzo is just a hot stretch away from better numbers, but none of his advanced metrics suggest he’s close to breaking through.
If Rizzo continues performing the way he has, the Yankees should consider having another option on the roster ahead of October. They can’t go into the playoffs counting on a Rizzo resurgence if this is what the results have been for more than a calendar year.
A few names could make sense for the Yankees at first base: the San Francisco Giants’ LaMonte Wade Jr., Arizona Diamondbacks’ Christian Walker, Tampa Bay Rays’ Yandy Díaz and Miami Marlins’ Josh Bell.
One complicating factor in upgrading first base is the Yankees could slide DJ LeMahieu there and make him platoon with Rizzo. They could then look to add an everyday third baseman instead. Names to watch at third would include the Rays’ Isaac Paredes, Washington Nationals’ Nick Senzel, Giants’ Matt Chapman and Cincinnati Reds’ Jeimer Candelario.
Regardless of whether the Yankees decide to upgrade first or third base, getting a corner infielder at the deadline has become a clear need for the club. — Kirschner
How much will the Yankees add to the bullpen?
The Yankees are in a good spot with their relief unit. Their combined 3.07 ERA was third-best in the majors entering Tuesday. But there’s a sense that things could be better. Their 208 strikeouts were just 22nd overall. Of course, they could keep this up the rest of the regular season. But in the playoffs, strikeout stuff matters more.
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The club will have internal options. The Yankees could look to transition Clarke Schmidt to the bullpen when he returns from the injured list around August or even Luis Gil as his workload builds. They also have rehabbing righties J.T. Brubaker, Scott Effross, Nick Burdi and Lou Trivino, though it could be unwise to count on players returning from injury.
Clay Holmes has been typically excellent as the closer, leading the league with 19 saves to go along with a 1.23 ERA. But as a sinkerballer, he flirts with soft contact, and the Yankees could use someone who could blow hitters away in situations where a strikeout would be ideal. Luke Weaver would be their closest approximation to that, but they need him in his current multi-inning role.
Their only lefties, Caleb Ferguson (4.95 RA) and Victor Gonzalez (3.00 ERA), haven’t been dominant.
The Yankees seem likely to try to add at least one back-end flamethrower. They’ll surely be in the sweepstakes for Oakland A’s rookie Mason Miller, who throws 104 mph. The Chicago White Sox’s Michael Kopech (12.8 K/9) won’t be a free agent until after next season. The St. Louis Cardinals’ John King has a 1.66 ERA in 19 games, and the Yankees once targeted him when he was with the Texas Rangers.
But the Yankees’ bullpen is filled with reclamation projects (Holmes, Weaver, Ian Hamilton, Michael Tonkin), and the club could target someone under the radar and try to coach him up. — Kuty
Will they take a big swing?
The Yankees have a deep minor-league system that they could dip into if they wanted to take big swings on the market. The Houston Astros generally don’t like selling — their GM Dana Brown has said they intend to buy — but if things continue going sideways for them, would a sell-off make sense?
If so, third baseman Alex Bregman would become one of the most coveted players on the market. It may be difficult for Yankees fans to swallow given his connection to the 2017 Astros, but his postseason experience and bat would make him an ideal fit. He’ll also be a free agent at the end of the season, so the Yankees could move on from him in the offseason.
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It seems unlikely that the New York Mets would trade first baseman Pete Alonso to the Yankees, but he’s another player who will become a free agent at the end of the season. Having a 2-3-4 in the order of Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Alonso would be a formidable trio. But would the Mets trade their star and fan favorite to the crosstown rivals?
How about Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, another free agent at the end of the season? Goldschmidt’s performance hasn’t matched his stellar track record, but there aren’t many players better than him. If the Cardinals fall out of the playoff race in the next several weeks, he would make sense for the Yankees as a rental. — Kirschner
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(Top photo of Anthony Rizzo: Luke Hales/Getty Images)