Yankees Rumors: Travis Shaw of the Brewers to the Bronx?

The latest Yankees rumor comes as a bit of surprise, but if the Brewers were to sign free agent third baseman Mike Moustakas, Travis Shaw could become available via trade.

As much as some fans would have preferred this rumor to involve the Yankees having interest in Mike Moustakas, that’s not the case.

Between the number of years, overall dollar value Moustakas would want, and the blockade he places on the hot corner, inking the former Royals slugger to a lucrative contract doesn’t play into New York’s current iota.

Instead, and somewhat surprisingly, the Milwaukee Brewers look to be the most active team in pursuit of Moose, who is coming off a career year in which he hit 38 home runs and drove in 85 runs.

The reason no one saw the Brew Crew having much interest in Moose is that they have their own stellar third baseman in Travis Shaw. Brewers general manager David Stearns must feel Moustakas is a significant upgrade over Shaw, especially if he is willing to add significant salary to compete in a winnable NL Central.

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According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic, the dominoes will begin to fall if the Brewers can sign Moustakas, then, in turn, look to deal Shaw, rather than move him to first base. Bowden believes the Yankees, Mets and Braves would be the most logical contenders for the 27-year-old.

Acquired from the Red Sox in Dec of 2016 for reliever Tyler Thornburg, Shaw showed the type of production in ’17 that the Sox had hoped for when he was a top prospect within their organization.

In his third professional season, first, as an everyday starter, Shaw slashed .273/.349/.513 with 31 homers and 101 RBI in 538 at-bats.

Shaw is also a very capable defender, finishing ’17 with the fourth most NL assists for a 3B (255), second most double plays turned for an NL 3B (32), fourth best total zone runs for a 3B (8) and fourth best fielding percentage for an NL 3B (.975).

Unable to hit free agency until 2022, Shaw would be a fantastic left-handed addition to the Yanks’ lineup. With his ability to play first base, and backup Greg Bird in a pinch, trading for Shaw wouldn’t require the type of haul we’ve seen most inquiring clubs ask general manager Brian Cashman for this offseason.

Naturally, this rumor would only come to fruition if Moose does indeed head to Milwaukee, but it’s one the Yankees should monitor.

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Shaw is a low-risk, high reward type player that is young enough to grow with this blossoming core group. He also allows the organization to keep its top prospects in the minors a bit longer for more seasoning.