New York Yankees don’t need to trade for Francisco Lindor

Francisco Lindor once again appears in trade rumors, and the New York Yankees are attached to those rumblings.

After the departure of Didi Gregorius, the Yankees find themselves down another left-handed batter. The first question that came from Gregorius’ exit was who was going to replace the five-year Bomber?

The Yanks have known the answer for quite some time, and his name is Gleyber Torres.

There is a reason why the Yankees did not offer Gregorius a Qualifying Offer or a contract extension. They knew that Torres was capable of playing shortstop. After all, short is his natural position.

While there is no question that Lindor would be an excellent addition to the Yankees lineup, he would undoubtedly come at a high cost.

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Lindor is an outstanding hitter and has smacked at least 30 home runs in each of his last three seasons in Cleveland, which could see an increase at Yankee Stadium. And he was the sixth highest-ranked shortstop defensively in the majors in 2019, according to FanGraphs.

However, this is where it would get complicated for the Yankees. Who would be traded to acquire Lindor, and where would he fit?

Admittedly, New York could put Lindor at shortstop, but then where does Torres go? He cannot man second base if D.J. LeMahieu is there and cannot be an everyday DH if Giancarlo Stanton takes that spot.

The Yanks could move LeMahieu to first base if they felt it would be best for the team defense, but Luke Voit and Mike Ford provide ample offensive production, so for now, the duo will battle it out for playing time.

GM Brian Cashman is surely not going to trade a player like LeMahieu or Torres in order to acquire Lindor, so who else would go? A package of prospects could happen, but it does not solve the overcrowded infield situation if Lindor was added to that bunch.

So for now, it doesn’t make sense acquiring the four-time All-Star. But there is always next offseason if the Yanks decide to let LeMahieu walk in free agency.