The Five Yankees Most Likely to Be Traded This Winter

Jorge Mateo

It seems all but certain that the Yankees will ship out at least one of their top position player prospects to land a young pitcher, and Jorge Mateo seems like the most likely candidate because of three factors.

First, the acquisition of Gleyber Torres from the Cubs at the trade deadline didn’t exactly make Mateo expendable, but I’m sure it doesn’t hurt their willingness to move him this winter. The system is chock full of talented shortstops, which is hardly a problem, but it’s definitely an area of depth they can deal from.

Second, he’s been one of the more disappointing prospects in the system this year. His power numbers declined significantly (SLG dropped from .392 to .379), he stopped swiping as many bags (82 SB vs. 36), and he struggled to get on base consistently (.306 OBP).

Finally, the team seems to have soured on his makeup for whatever reason. He was suspended for two weeks for an unreleased infraction, which was followed by a mini-soap opera where multiple versions of the story surfaced and were disputed.

Whatever happened, Mateo is probably in the dog house for his performance both on and off the field, making him an easy guy to move, especially because the industry still considers him to be a top-50 talent. If New York doesn’t think he has what it takes to progress, they may be better off moving him now before his stock slips further.