The Yankees are heading toward the All-Star break looking for fixes, and the trade deadline is shaping up as the obvious place to find them.
With Aaron Judge on the injured list and the club continuing to slide, the front office has a roster that needs help in multiple spots. The biggest question now is how Brian Cashman chooses to attack it.
Asked to rank the Yankees’ biggest needs, Brendan Kuty put catcher at the top, followed by reliever and starting pitcher, while noting that a left-side infielder could also belong in the mix.
Catcher is the clearest problem. Austin Wells, J.C.
Escarra and Ali Sánchez have combined for a 43 wRC+, the lowest mark in the majors entering Wednesday, and they were hitting a combined .175. Kuty pointed out that even in 2021, the last season pitchers hit regularly in the National League, pitchers batted .110.
The Yankees are not quite there, but the production has been close enough to make the point. Beyond the numbers, there’s also the constant drumbeat around the position and the questions Aaron Boone keeps getting about when Wells will finally hit.
That has been going on for more than a year, dating back to midseason in 2025.
Relief help is next on the list, even though the bullpen’s 1.5 Win Probability Added is good for 13th in the majors. The issue is how often the Yankees have asked that group to work from behind, sometimes from big deficits.
Brent Headrick, David Bednar and Fernando Cruz have done their jobs, as expected, but Jake Bird and Camilo Doval have not. The Yankees acquired both at last year’s deadline, and Kuty said they should not keep getting innings in close games.
He said upgrades are needed.
Starting pitching comes after that, though it’s not a simple fix. Max Fried, who is dealing with an elbow bone bruise, should be back in about a month.
Carlos Rodón may be on a similar timeline. The deeper issue is what comes after them.
Neither Elmer Rodríguez nor Brendan Beck has done enough at Triple-A, and with Will Warren and Ryan Weathers inconsistent lately and Gerrit Cole still working his way back after Tommy John surgery, the Yankees may need a mid-rotation arm.
The strikeout problem is another area that could push the Yankees toward the market. Ryan McMahon is at 31.5 percent, Austin Wells at 27.9 percent, Ali Sánchez at 27.3 percent and Max Schuemann at 26.3 percent, all numbers that make them look like possible upgrade candidates.
Minnesota’s Victor Caratini, who has a 19.1 K%, was mentioned as a possible fit if the Yankees think Ryan Jeffers would cost too much. Caratini also grades well as a framer, though he is minus-6 caught steals above average.
Luis Arraez, despite being the best contact hitter arguably available, does not sound like a target. Kuty said the Yankees could have gone after him this offseason and did not show interest.
They want better defense at second base, or at least a player with more defensive upside, such as Jazz Chisholm Jr. McMahon is also interesting because he is owed $16 million next year, and the Yankees would likely welcome an upgrade now.
Bird and Doval remain a separate concern, even with pitch models suggesting better stuff than the results show. The Yankees lean heavily on those models, and they do like the raw pitches.
Bird’s slider carries a 126 Stuff+; Doval’s slider is at 127. But the problem is command and predictability.
Bird and Doval have struggled to locate just about everything, and hitters appear to be sitting on the slider. Against Doval’s cutter, his second-most-used pitch, hitters are batting .345.
Kuty’s view was blunt: the Yankees should move on and let another team try to fix them.
The shortstop picture is also part of the deadline conversation. Asked whether the Yankees would consider trading Anthony Volpe if George Lombard Jr. is close to MLB-ready, Kuty said yes, they surely would.
But he also said bringing up Lombard this season might be rushing him, even if he is apparently ready defensively and mentally. The question is the bat.
When the Yankees gave Volpe the job in 2023, they believed he was ready offensively, and they felt the same way about Wells behind the plate. That has not worked out as hoped.
Kuty added that he could understand the Yankees eventually preferring Lombard over José Caballero and Volpe later in the season, but not necessarily right away.
Then there’s the outfield logjam, or at least the one the Yankees would have if everyone were healthy. Spencer Jones and Jasson Domínguez do not have clear big-league roles when Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham are available, though Judge is not healthy and Grisham does get hurt sometimes. Kuty said the Yankees would probably trade both Jones and Domínguez, but they likely need to keep one, and right now they prefer Domínguez.
In Other News...
Yankees Just Got Linked To A Trade Fans Will Hate Or Love
A speculative trade idea from Bleacher Report has the Yankees in an eye-catching spot, with the discussion centered on whether a utility infielder could be worth parting with a pair of pitching prospects. The appeal on New Yorks side is easy to see: Carlos Lagrange brings big arm strength and starter upside, while Eric Reyzelman has also drawn enough attention to be included in the kind of package that gets people talking.
Lagrange, in particular, has the sort of profile that makes these proposals divisive. The 23-year-old right-hander can reach 100 mph, pairs that heater with an above-average slider, and was effective in Triple-A before a shoulder injury complicated his season. On the other side of the idea sits Zack Gelof, a versatile infielder with years of team control and an .823 OPS, which is exactly why this kind of rumor can split a fan base right down the middle. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Boone Finally Addressed The Anthony Volpe Confusion
The Yankees shortstop conversation has been noisy enough that it started to feel bigger than the actual depth chart, with Jose Caballeros name entering the debate and Anthony Volpe suddenly having to answer for a position he has long owned. Aaron Boone stepped in to calm some of that down, making clear that Volpe remains the clubs shortstop and treating him like the incumbent rather than a player fighting to keep a job.
Boones comments also helped separate the real baseball question from the rumor mill surrounding Volpes role. The Yankees have supported him as the starter, and while the chatter around a possible move has lingered, the team has not asked him to play elsewhere, leaving the focus where it belongs: on how the Yankees sort out the infield behind the guy they still view as their shortstop. [Read more 🡒]
A Forgotten Yankees Prospect From 2016 Is Back For The Worst Reason
A former Yankees pitching prospect from the 2016 system has resurfaced in an unwelcome way, this time in the Rockies Triple-A orbit. At 34, he is still hanging around professional baseball after a career that never quite matched the early buzz, one that took him out of the Yankees pipeline and eventually led to a major league debut with Oakland.
What makes the latest turn notable is less the uniform than the reason for it. The right-handers path has already included the usual grind of a fluctuating career, but now he is back in the news for a suspension tied to performance-enhancing drugs, a reminder that even players long removed from the spotlight can still leave one more awkward footnote behind. [Read more 🡒]