The New York Yankees’ recent slide has been deafening as they have now lost 14 of their last 19 games and were swept by the under .500 Cincinnati Reds this week.
With the trade deadline approaching in 25 days, it’s evident that GM Brian Cashman must work diligently to reshape his roster ahead of July 30 in order to make the Yankees well equipped for a deep postseason run.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a potential trade partner, but have likely not yet made a decision on whether they will buy or sell because they’re just 2.5 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot as of this date. That said, they’re under .500 and have star first baseman Christian Walker on an expiring deal.
MLB insider Jon Heyman of The New York Post revealed that the AL rival Houston Astros are believed to love Walker as their “dream target.”
Regardless, the Yankees need to be aggressive and Walker would be a major upgrade at first base on both sides of the diamond.
The 33-year-old is second in the league with seven Outs Above Average at first base and has captured a Gold Glove Award in each of the past two seasons.
He is also no slouch with the bat, as he already has 22 home runs on the season to go along with a .271/.345/.526 slash line and .871 OPS in 87 games.
Walker is a rental, but it would make sense for the Diamondbacks to deal him for prospects even if they’re still competing for a Wild Card spot. The Yankees cannot let the Astros acquire him because it would hurt their chances of winning the AL pennant. New York is all-in with Juan Soto set to be a free agent after the season, and Walker could help turnaround their struggles.
In addition to Walker, his Arizona teammate, third baseman Eugenio Suarez, is another name that could be shipped out should the Diamondbacks fade, per Heyman. Suarez could be packaged in a deal with Walker, and the Yankees would be killing two birds with one stone given the lack of production they’ve received from the corner infield spots this season.
Although Suarez is not having a good year, he could rediscover his power-hitting bat in a lineup with two of the game’s brightest stars in Soto and AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge. The 32-year-old Suarez has 252 career homers and blasted 49 long balls back in 2019. He only has six homers through 83 games this season, but launched 22 of them in 2023.
Top prospect rookie Ben Rice has impressed at first base since his call-up, but bringing in Walker would allow the Yankees to move him back to his natural position at catcher. If Walker is available at the deadline, the Yankees should be all over him; having Arizona throw in Suarez could be an option as well.
Source link : https://www.si.com/mlb/yankees/news/yankees-could-swipe-al-rival-s-dream-trade-target-at-deadline
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Publish date : 2024-07-05 14:00:02
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