New York Yankees: Four players they should consider trading for during the season

4. 1B/DH Carlos Santana

On Jun. 15, 2019, the Yankees traded for a powerful bat and first baseman in Edwin Encarnacion. Encarnacion was able to get many at-bats and fill in at first base from time to time. They may look for a similar player in Santana if the injury bug continues tp plague them as it did a season ago.

Santana is a switch-hitter that could be added to the Yankees lineup to alleviate the loss of Didi Gregorius’ left-handed bat. Although he would not help them at shortstop, he can still be a valuable asset because of his ability to hit for power and take a lot of walks.

Santana is coming off a career season in 2019 that saw him elected to his first All-Star Game and win his first Silver Slugger Award. In 158 games with Cleveland, he batted .281 and slugged 34 home runs with 93 RBIs, a .397 OBP and a .911 OPS.

He is in the final year a 3-year, $60 million deal that he signed with the Phillies before being traded back to Cleveland which carries a $17.5 million club option for the 2021 season. The Yankees may decide that he is a good piece to carry for depth purposes in case either Luke Voit or Mike Ford gets hurt or doesn’t live up to expectations offensively.

If the Yankees want to look for a rental that could extend into next season, Santana may be the perfect option for them.

3. RHP Ken Giles

The Yankees really don’t need to go out and add any more high leverage relievers, but you can bet GM Brian Cashman will try to stack his bullpen up if he feels its necessary prior to the trade deadline.

In September 2019, it was revealed that the Yankees nearly acquired the Giles at last year’s trade deadline. However, the Yankees eventually pulled out of the deal due to an elbow injury Giles was nursing. After a strong 2019 season that saw him post a sub-2.00 ERA, the Yanks may want to add some valuable depth to their bullpen before the stretch run and bring in the player they wanted to add last season.

Giles agreed to a $9.6 million salary for the 2020 season and will hit free agency after this upcoming season. The Blue Jays are still in the midst of a rebuild so if they’re out of the race later in the season they’d be crazy not to assess the trade market for their closer. After back to abck solid season in Toronto he’d surely bring them back something good in return.

For the Yankees, Giles could be a valuable rental, as Cashman is never afraid to one of the team’s greatest strengths even greater.

2. LHP Robbie Ray

The Yankees walk into the 2020 season with one of the best starting rotations in the American League. If the regular season were to start on time, their rotation would consist of Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, Jordan Montgomery, and one other starter, likely Jonathan Loaisiga. That rotation alone is above average with Cole leading the way.

James Paxton should be close to returning by mid-May at the earliest although Luis Severino won’t be seeing any action at all this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last month. However, as I noted with the bullpen you can never have too much depth when it comes to pitching.

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A name that was heavily talked about during the Trade Deadline last year was Ray, and Cashman had some interest in the southpaw. The D’Backs asking price was reportedly way too high and they wanted any potential offer to include outfielder Clint Frazier.

Although Ray will be another player that would be a rental, he could provide depth to the Yankees rotation in case of an injury or if any pitcher struggles throughout the season. Ray has had a history of a high walk rate, but he also is one of the best strikeout pitchers in baseball amongst southpaws.

Ray is expected to make $9.43 million in his final year of arbitration so if the D’Backs are out fo the race they’ll likely look to trade him instead of letting him walk in the offseason for nothing.

1. LHP Josh Hader

During the offseason, I wrote a post saying the Yankees should not trade for Hader. However, if a trade was on the table during the regular season it’d be a completely different story.

If the Yankees find themselves in a good position to make a run deep into the playoffs, they should undoubtedly turn their focus to the best reliever in baseball who was in trade rumors all offseason. He’d cost a lot more to acquire than Giles but he’s a much better option who could be a total game-changer for the Yanks in October.

Hader is the only player on this list who would not be a rental so it would take a significant haul to acquire him. He is set to become a free agent after the 2023 season, so he’d give the Yankees a full three seasons if they were to trade for him. Even if it means giving up one or two of their top pitching prospects the Yankees should consider parting ways with them if they truly believe Hader is the missing piece they need to win it all.

With Hader in the bullpen mix to set up for Aroldis Chapman the Yankees odds of winning the World Series would significantly improve because he is that good. He is a player with years of team control and would make the New York bullpen even more lethal in the coming years.