Yankees: 3 best trades NYY didn't make in recent years

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Here are the three best trades that the Yankees didn’t make in recent years.

Thanks to their ridiculous payroll, the New York Yankees are seemingly always in the market to upgrade their roster. Whether it be signing the cream of the free agency crop (both domestically and internationally) — look no further than the recent deals for Gerrit Cole and Jasson Dominguez — or striking a blockbuster trade, there’s simply never a shortage of options for the club to get what it wants, when it wants.

However, this hyper-aggression to always be on top and roster the best players has almost landed the Yankees in a world of trouble on numerous occasions in recent years. You know where we’re headed with this one, folks.

It’s time to reminisce on potential blockbuster trades that New York seriously discussed, which would have been a disaster had general manager Brian Cashman pulled the trigger. Here are the first three that come to mind. Take a deep breath, Yankees fans.

Free agent 1B Lucas Duda (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

3. Near Lucas Duda Trade

The 2017 Yankees really took MLB by surprise. Though their rebuild project was way ahead of schedule, even the most delusional of fans couldn’t have predicted them to be one win away from reaching the World Series. Of course, they fell to the Houston Astros in the ALCS in seven games.

Prior to that heartbreaking loss, however, it became apparent that New York was poised for a deep playoff run, and the front office was looking to bolster the weak spots on the team. The first base situation filled that bill, as it consisted of an injured Greg Bird and veteran Chris Carter, the latter of which had a truly horrific season, hitting .208 with just eight home runs, 26 RBI and 76 strikeouts in 62 games.

That prompted the Yankees to turn to the crosstown rival Mets and slugger Lucas Duda, whose power and love for pulling the ball could have made a seamless transition to the short porch in right field at the Stadium. As it turns out, Duda was brutal in the second half of that season, batting .198 with a .293 OBP. The 34-year-old’s carer has since endured a tailspin as he’s hit .206 over the last two years and is currently a free agent.

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The Yankees almost traded for Lucas Duda in 2017.

The Mets likely wouldn’t have demanded a haul in return for Duda, but there’s no doubting that the Yankees made out like bandits in pulling out of these negotiations, especially since you know the boys in Flushing would’ve bothered the Yanks for more than any other potential partner.

We’ll hazard a guess and say that fans are doing just fine with Luke Voit and Mike Ford rotating at first base these days.

Yankees INF Gleyber Torres (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

2. Gleyber Torres to Detroit

It’s almost an annual lock for the Yankees to be in the market for a starting pitcher ahead of the trade deadline, and understandably so, as they’ve lacked genuine depth in the rotation for a few years now.

The same can be said for 2019, when New York reportedly reached out to the Detroit Tigers — who were taking offers on seemingly every player at the time — and inquired about the availability of left-hander Matthew Boyd.

While the Yanks showed real interest in acquiring the 29-year-old veteran, what reportedly dissuaded them from pulling the trigger was that Detroit was demanding Gleyber Torres in return, and fans should be thanking their lucky stars this turned out to be the case.

For starters, Boyd is the definition of a below-average starting pitcher. In 121 career starts, he’s 31-48 with a woeful 5.02 ERA and equally-egregious 1.333 WHIP. In comparison, Torres is just 23 years old and has established himself as one of the best young players in the game. Last season, he hit .278/.337/.535 with 38 home runs, 90 RBI and an .871 OPS.

Gleyber Torres is a superstar in the making for New York.

As much of a mastermind as Cashman has been pulling the strings through the years, Yankees fans might not have been able to forgive him if he traded Torres for a player that would have made the rotation worse than it already was — or, traded anyone of value for Boyd, really.

Yankees RHP Luis Severino (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

1. Judge and Severino to Atlanta

Three years ago, the Atlanta Braves were in the middle of a multi-year rebuilding project, and they held negotiations with New York about a potential 10-player blockbuster trade that, when looking back at it, featured some of the best young studs in MLB today.

Let’s start with a breakdown of the near-disaster.

Yankees get: Andrelton Simmons, Jayson Heyward, Melvin Upton Jr., David Carpenter and Chris Johnson.

Braves get: Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez, Manny Banuelos and Ian Clarkin.

What if Braves had traded Heyward, Simmons to Yankees? https://t.co/7KBfnbsqwO
— AJC Sports (@AJCsports) March 10, 2016

We all know that Cashman loves nothing more than completing a trade, but there’s really no reason for fans in the Bronx to think that this mega blockbuster was even close to coming to fruition. Still, the fact that the details were made public proves that the Yankees dodged a massive bullet.

Imagine if New York was forced to watch Judge, Severino and Sanchez morph into the stars they are and will continue to be for several years with the Braves? And in exchange, all the Yankees would’ve gotten is Jayson Heyward (aka Mr. Rain Delay in Chicago), a defense-first short stop in Simmons, and some relievers and backups? Just picturing that reality is enough to make us want to vomit.

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Yankees: 3 best trades NYY didn’t make in recent years