The Yankees are heading into an offseason where versatility might matter as much as star power, and one name in the mix is a familiar one from the other side of the roster construction debate.
Jose Caballero is a finalist for Rawlings’ American League utility Gold Glove after spending the season all over the field for New York. He started at shortstop, third base and second base, played all three outfield spots and swiped 34 bases in 136 games. That kind of range is not just useful for the Yankees right now - it looks like a necessity.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. is headed toward free agency after stealing 41 bases at second base, and the Yankees are reportedly unlikely to make him a qualifying offer. Luis Garcia Jr., acquired from Washington at the trade deadline, could shift back to the middle infield, and manager Aaron Boone has already said a move for the left-handed hitter could be on the table. That leaves the bench and infield picture unsettled.
The Yankees already leaned on flexibility in 2026 as injuries forced them to move pieces around the diamond, and Caballero filled in at just about every stop. But if Chisholm leaves, New York would be losing its regular second baseman and a major chunk of its speed.
Defense also loomed large in October, when the Yankees’ season ended in an AL Division Series sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays. The turning point came in Game 2 at Tropicana Field, where New York committed four errors in a loss that put the team on the brink.
That backdrop makes a player like Zach McKinstry interesting. SNY’s Phillip Martinez listed the Detroit Tigers utility man as a possible Yankees trade target this week, though that was presented as a fit suggestion rather than reporting on actual talks.
McKinstry, 31, was an injury replacement on the AL All-Star team in July 2025 and put together a breakout season that year. He hit .259/.333/.438 with a .771 OPS and 12 home runs, then won the AL Silver Slugger as a utility player.
The next season went in the opposite direction. In 423 plate appearances, the left-handed hitter batted .199/.288/.294 with four homers and a .582 OPS.
The drop in production came with a hard-hit rate of just 22.5 percent, and part of the decline has been linked to a suspected oblique tear in April. Still, the glove stayed strong.
Statcast gave McKinstry 12 fielding runs and eight outs above average, and he finished with 15 defensive runs saved overall. Thirteen of those came in right field, where he threw out nine runners.
His defensive usage expanded after Kerry Carpenter’s late-July injury. Even then, McKinstry managed 49 starts in right field, 28 at second base, 19 at shortstop and four at third base.
He also brings value on the bases. McKinstry was worth three to four baserunning runs above average in each season from 2023 through 2025 and twice led the Tigers in steals.
Martinez pointed to the multi-position fit as the selling point, even while acknowledging the bat is the concern. “But it’s hard to overlook his ability to play multiple positions and is just one year removed from being an All-Star and a Silver Slugger,” Martinez wrote.
He also left open the question of whether the offense could rebound enough to make him more than just a glove-first piece. “Could McKinstry bounce back and be a good platoon option?” Martinez wrote.
The price also appears manageable. Martinez suggested it might not take much to pry McKinstry from Detroit, especially if the Yankees could offer Jasson Dominguez, whose future in the Bronx has been debated throughout the year.
Caballero and McKinstry would not be carbon copies. Caballero finished 2026 with a .655 OPS, roughly 70 points better than McKinstry, and he stole far more bases, though he was caught 11 times.
McKinstry, meanwhile, had a .310 expected slugging percentage and a .233 batting average on balls in play, which sits 41 points below his career .274 mark. His on-base percentage was also 89 points higher than his batting average, compared with 59 for Caballero, and he has averaged 3.98 pitches per plate appearance for his career.
The handedness piece matters too. Caballero bats right-handed, while McKinstry hits left-handed, as do Garcia and Ben Rice. Martinez noted that overlap as the biggest drawback, especially at third base and possibly second.
Even so, the appeal is obvious for a Yankees club trying to shore up its defense without burning a roster spot on a one-dimensional backup. McKinstry has one year of team control left before free agency, and MLB Trade Rumors projects about $5 million for his final arbitration season. Detroit also has younger options climbing toward playing time, including Kevin McGonigle, Hao-Yu Lee, Colt Keith and Max Clark.
For New York, that makes McKinstry a low-cost trade idea with a simple pitch: more coverage, more flexibility, and another way to stabilize a defense that just cost them plenty.
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One name to watch is Teruaki Sato, coming off a Triple Crown-winning season and drawing attention as a potential free agent target. For the Yankees, who have been chasing stability at third base for a while, this is the kind of player who could change the conversation fast, but the market figures to be crowded and the fit may not come easy. [Read more 🡒]
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Bowden also sees New York getting pulled into a very different kind of pursuit, one that could come with a familiar rival attached. He projects a bidding battle between the Yankees and Red Sox for NPB player Teruaki Sato, even as there are reports suggesting New York may hesitate because of defensive concerns. That leaves the Yankees weighing whether to commit resources to preserve their bullpen core while also deciding how far they want to go on an international target with some real question marks. [Read more 🡒]