Yankees should consider outfielder Adam Jones as their ‘Plan B’

The Yankees need a ‘Plan B’ to fill the holes left by injuries to Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles does just enough on offense and defense to be a significant acquisition.

Boom! Aaron Judge get’s smacked on his right wrist by a fastball from Jakob Junis in the first inning of the series opener with Kansas City in the Bronx on Thursday. Result: The Yankees say Judge has a chipped fracture and will not resume baseball activities for at least three weeks.

Bam! Gary Sanchez returns to the DL after aggravating the strained right groin injury that already forced the Yankee catcher to miss 20 games over the last month. The club has indicated no official timetable for his return, although GM Brian Cashman indicated the team would be without Sanchez for at least another month.

Just when we thought the Yankees were hitting their stride with the acquisition of pitchers Zach Britton from the Orioles and J.A. Happ of the Bue Jays, lightning strikes twice.

With both Judge and Sanchez missing from the “Magnificent Seven” lineup, the race to catch the Boston Red Sox and avoid being a Wildcard team becomes far more difficult.

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So what should Cashman and the Yankees do? Go to Plan B. The trade deadline is not until Tuesday, July 31 and Adam Jones of the Orioles could be rented for a very reasonable price

Here are the 32-year-old outfielder’s stats for this season on the worst club in MLB. Jones is hitting .281 with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs while batting in the No. 2 hole in front of Manny Machado for most of the year. He would fit nicely in Judge’s spot until the Yankee slugger returns, and then a great bench addition for the Postseason.

Although his power numbers have not been great, Adam Jones is in his walk year, and playing in the Bronx might help him convince another club he still has juice left in the tank since he has always hit well at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees know Jones well and so do the reigning AL East champs. Against Red Sox pitchers In 2018, Jones has a .311 batting average in 45 at-bats.

Jones is at the end of a six-year, $85 million contract which translates to about $5 million left for the remainder of this year. Cashman could try to get the Orioles to pick up some of that since Jone has 10/5 rights, equating to a no-trade clause and reports are that if Jones were to accept a trade, it would only be to a contender. 

Adam Jones is a fierce competitor and adds another veteran presence in the Yankees clubhouse. Brian Cashman would do the club well to bring him aboard to plug the leaks.