The latest Yankees trade chatter has a familiar smell to it: the kind that brings back memories of Clint Frazier and Miguel Andújar.
According to the rumor making the rounds, the Yankees could be willing to dangle Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez as they try to improve the big league roster before the deadline. That’s the sort of report that instantly gets people talking, even if the fit feels awkward on the surface. The idea is that New York would use those names as part of a push to add help, likely in the bullpen.
That’s also why the reaction has been so cynical. If this is the route the Yankees are taking, it looks a lot like another case of waiting too long to move young players before their value shifts. The comparison to Frazier and Andújar comes from the same place: the Yankees holding on, the hype building, and then the market not looking nearly as friendly when it finally matters.
Cashman’s history with these situations is part of what makes the rumor believable. The Yankees have built a pattern over time - sometimes trading very little for expensive veterans, sometimes finding short-term gems, sometimes landing players who don’t work out, and sometimes simply letting the rumor mill run wild around prospects whose stock has already changed. This latest report fits that last category.
There is still reason to be careful with it. Francys Romero may have information, but he’s not Jeff Passan, so the report should be taken with a grain of salt for now. Even so, it wouldn’t be shocking if this is the Yankees’ approach, given how often they’ve handled these situations the same way.
The Frazier-Andújar example still hangs over this kind of discussion for a reason. Cashman waited until the end to move both players, and the whole thing turned into a national punchline.
Frazier’s “lightning fast bat speed” was once the selling point, but concussions and poor defense had already taken the shine off. Andújar, who finished runner-up to Shohei Ohtani in the 2018 Rookie of the Year race, never got back to that level after a shoulder injury.
Yankees fans were caught in the middle, convinced either player might still bring back something meaningful.
Jones and Dominguez are a different case, though. They’re better prospects than Frazier and Andújar were at that point, and they still carry more upside and projection even if they haven’t delivered in pinstripes. But the larger point remains: neither one is helping the Yankees much right now, whether they stay or go.
If they do get moved, the likeliest outcome is that they’re pieces in bigger deals rather than the main attraction. The Yankees have already put both on display, and the results have been underwhelming. That’s the cost of refusing to sell high.
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Pitching depth may be the easiest place to create that kind of flexibility, especially with several starters working their way back from the injured list. If the rotation gets healthier in the coming weeks, the Yankees could find themselves with more arms than spots, which is exactly the sort of surplus that can be turned into help elsewhere. The harder question is whether that help has to come from a part of the roster the club would rather keep intact. [Read more 🡒]