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

Even though there will be no baseball until mid-May at the earliest, the Yankees may still decide to acquire some help before the trade deadline to help bolster the team heading into the playoffs.

Every team’s goal is to strive for as much success as possible, but the only way the Yankees achieve success is by winning a World Series title. That is exactly what they will be pushing for this year, and have put together a team that will give them a great chance to win #28.

The biggest indicator was the record-breaking signing of Gerrit Cole, who inked a 9-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees. Cole, who is fresh off a fantastic 2019 season, the Yankees’ biggest competitors in the American League in order to sign with his childhood team.

Cole will be a huge help for the Yankees, but he is not the sole reason that they will be able to compete for a World Series. They may look for help in other areas not relating to pitching to better improve their overall roster.

Although there is no definite timetable for a return to baseball, these are four candidates the Yankees may want to consider trading for during the season if baseball does return at some point.

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.

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.