Yankees: Four players with value who should be traded

Tyler Wade

The Yankees infield, with the addition of Gleyber Torres and subtraction of Chase Headley when his contract expires at the end of next season, could be set for the next five to seven years.

With Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro still in the emerging stars category and their youth, the Yankees would appear set up the middle, barring any serious injury to either of the two.

Tyler Wade’s signature position is at shortstop. The problem for the Yankees is that Wade is blossoming into a mirror image of Gregorius, which means that he is at least a tick above all major league shortstops with nowhere to go.

In 40 or so games with the Triple-A Railriders, Wade is hitting .310 with an on-base percentage approaching .400. He also has sixteen extra-base hits and is on pace to score 120 runs.

In a possible attempt to “save” him, the Yankees have used him at six different positions so far this season, hoping that he could be their Ben Zobrist of the future.

Given time, the strategy could work if the Yankees had more time to decide which of their 40 players will be protected in the near future.

Not to go unnoticed either is the fact that Wade has made fifteen errors with time divided between short, second, and third. That’s not okay.

Again though, when talking trades, the trick is to swap a player when his value is at its peak. In that regard, Wade doesn’t qualify as a Gleyber Torres, but he’s still in the top tier of the Yankees talent pool who can attract attention if he’s put out there.

The Yankees also have back-ups to be their Jack-of-all-trades super-sub. Miguel Andujar, Ronald Torreyes, and Jorge Mateo all qualify as candidates who fit the job description.

Wade will not be the star attraction in any deal the Yankees make. Instead, he’ll be the significant add-in that makes the trade happen in return for a star attraction.