Yankees: Three players who could still be traded before Opening Day

SP J.A. Happ

Out of all the players on the Yankees 40-man roster, Happ is still the most likely to be dealt. It could happen before Spring Training or even during. but I don’t see the veteran left-hander starting the season with the club on Opening Day. That is unless someone in the Yankee rotation suffers an injury during the next two to three months.

A Happ trade still seems likely for a couple of reasons. The first is it would lower the Yankees payroll and help them avoid paying the penalty for going over the third and highest luxury tax threshold of $248M. Right now they’re projected to be about $13M over and Happ is set to make $17M next season and has a vesting option for the same amount in 2021. If the Yankees can offload his entire contract in a trade or a large portion of it would be the easiest way to help them and chairman Hal Steinbrenner avoid paying the penalty.

Happ is also more expendable now that the Yankees have Gerrit Cole leading their starting staff and Jordan Montgomery back in the mix from injury. Montgomery was terrific during his rookie campaign in 2017 before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018 which forced him to miss all of last season until he returned in September. He deserves a spot in the starting rotation next season but he probably won’t get it if Happ remains on the roster.

The Yankees also have more depth than in years passed with promising prospects like Deivi Garcia and Mike King who could both impact the big league club in 2020. They’ll also likely get Domingo German back at some point following his 63 game suspension so they can afford to trade Happ and still get a lot of production out of their fifth starter spot.

That being said, if the Yanks are fine with accepting the penalty for going over the third threshold keeping Happ does make some sense. If Montgomery falters in his return or one of the prospects mentioned isn’t quite big-league ready yet it certainly can’t hurt to keep the veteran left-hander and have him take the mound every fifth day.

OF Clint Frazier

I believe Frazier is much more likely to be traded at some point during the regular season but it’s possible the Yankees could still deal him this offseason. Like Happ, Frazier has become very expendable because of all the depth at his position and entering 2020 it’s hard to see where he fits into the mix on the big league roster.

If the season started today Frazier would likely begin the year at Triple-A Scranton and Mike Tachman would get the nod as the team’s fourth outfielder. Frazier proved again last season that he has a lot of potential offensively but his defense was a disaster and I don’t know if the Yankees will ever have enough trust in him to play the outfield on a consistent basis.

Hopefully, he’s used the time off this offseason to improve his defense and that he’ll continue to do so this spring but even if he does I still don’t think it will be enough to earn him a spot on the 26-man roster. It’s a tough situation for Frazier because his bat is big-league ready and he deserves to be on a major league roster but I just don’t know if he’ll ever get that opportunity again in a Yankee uniform.

That’s why a trade at some point still seems like the most likely outcome. What the Yankees could get for him is tough to predict because his value has taken a hit due to his regression on defense. Although his ceiling offensively is still high so maybe there’s an interested team out there who could offer the Yanks a nice bullpen piece in return.

3B Miguel Andujar

Andujar is the player on this list who I think is least likely to be traded and the one who I hope doesn’t get traded the most. However, his name continues to be thrown around on the rumor mill and has been for the past two offseasons.

Miggy is more expendable after the breakout performance by Gio Urshela in his absence last season and because the Yankee infield is filled with depth across the diamond. Even after the departure of Didi Gregorius. What role he’ll play next season remains to be seen but as long as he’s on the roster it figures to be an important one. Like Frazier, Miggy has struggled defensively in his young big league career, but at the plate, he’s been a true force when healthy.

It’s easy to see why there are so many teams interested in acquiring him after the rookie season he had in 2018 when he hit .297 with 27 HR, 92 RBI and set the Yankee rookie record for doubles with 47. I don’t think anyone really believes that performance was a fluke and now that he’s recovered from the labrum tear expectations are high entering 2020.

More from Yanks Go Yard

• Why weren’t Yankees in on Kodai Senga now that we know the price?
• There’s one way Yankees can make SF Giants’ offseason even worse
• Yankees should swing trade for old enemy to fill 2023 left field vacancy
• Baseball Reference proves Yankees’ Aaron Judge lives rent free in Boston
• Yankees’ Clay Holmes trade just became even bigger disaster for Pirates

This spring Miggy will likely enter camp behind Gio on the third base depth chart and will have a hard time beating him out for the starting job. Other teams know that which is one of the reasons why the Yanks and GM Brian Cashman have received so many calls asking about his availability this offseason.

Most recently his name has come up in the Josh Hader talks last month and according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Yankees could offer a package including him. We haven’t seen much more information on a potential trade for Hader of late so maybe the talks have cooled down, but it’s something to keep an eye on over the next month.

I still don’t see it happening because the Yankees really don’t need Hader with the bullpen they already have and it would take more than just Miggy to get a deal done. Deivi Garcia, their top prospect would also likely have to be included and maybe Frazier as well.

I’m sure it’s a tempting trade for Cashman and company to consider but the price is going to be too high and the Yanks are going to need Miggy in the lineup next year to reach their full potential. He’s too good of a hitter to sell low on and deal now coming off an injury-plagued year.

Plus, whether it’s at third base, DH or even first base there are going to be ways to get him consistent at-bats next season so as long as he can stay healthy he should have another great year.