The Yankees are staring at a familiar problem, and it’s getting sharper by the day: without Aaron Judge, the lineup just doesn’t have enough juice to carry them where they want to go.
That’s the reality Brian Cashman has to deal with as the trade deadline approaches. Judge isn’t walking through that door anytime soon, and Giancarlo Stanton isn’t a dependable answer either. The 36-year-old has been sidelined by a calf injury since April, and at this point the Yankees can’t count on him to stabilize anything.
So if New York wants real help, not just a cosmetic fix, it may have to part with real talent. As The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner wrote, “To make bigger changes than just marginal upgrades, the Yankees may have to consider trading players such as [Jasson] Domínguez, [Anthony] Volpe, Spencer Jones and some of their pitching depth, like Will Warren and Elmer Rodríguez,”
“And if moving any of these players is what it takes to swing big, so be it,” he added.
That pitching depth is the clearest place for the Yankees to deal from. They’ve got a crowded mix of starting options, and that picture gets even more crowded with Max Fried and Clarke Schmidt set to return from the IL.
Carlos Rodon, who is also on the IL, is expected back before both of them. In that kind of setup, Warren and Rodriguez could wind up without a rotation job anyway.
The bigger issue is obvious: the Yankees need to give up something worthwhile if they want to get something worthwhile back. Catcher is one area they need to address over Austin Wells, and Shea Langeliers and Hunter Goodman are both interesting names. But even with those All-Stars in the mix, the lineup’s bigger problems would still be there.
Cashman has real work ahead, and if the Yankees decide to push for a major move, one or more of the players Kirschner named could end up on the block.
In Other News...
Yankees Suddenly Face Three Roster Calls They Cant Put Off
The Yankees left their split doubleheader against the Dodgers with the same uneasy feeling they brought in, because the roster questions around them are getting harder to ignore. Even after taking the nightcap, the bigger picture still points toward a club trying to stabilize itself while weighing whether some of its current pieces fit the way the front office hoped when the season began.
One of those calls is in the bullpen, where Camilo Doval has slid so far down the hierarchy that a move may be coming sooner rather than later, especially with his options situation adding pressure. The position-player side has its own debate, too, with Jasson Domnguez and Jazz Chisholm Jr. both at the center of suggested adjustments as the Yankees look for a cleaner mix and a little more certainty in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Just Ran Into A Bigger Problem Than One Bad Series
The Yankees split with the Dodgers did more than expose a rough offensive weekend. It reinforced how much the lineup still leans on Aaron Judge, and how thin the margin gets when he is not there to carry the middle of the order. New York managed only five runs across the series, and manager Aaron Boone said the club needs more consistent offense, a reminder that one hot stretch from the bats can hide a lot of underlying issues.
Cody Bellinger is one of the players expected to help steady things, but there is also a broader roster conversation hanging over the club as the trade deadline approaches. If the Yankees are going to keep pace, Brian Cashman may need to look beyond internal fixes and consider upgrades at catcher, along with other moves that could reshape the infield mix. The series in Los Angeles did not just cost them a chance at a cleaner result, it sharpened the question of whether this roster has enough reliable offense as currently built. [Read more 🡒]