Yankees Rumors: NYY considering trade for surprise outfielder

The New York Yankees rumors involve the Arizona Diamondbacks and a starting outfielder.

The Yankees’ shopping list is beginning to emerge — and right on time, too, as the trade deadline is literally Monday. Weird how that happened!

All the requisite elements are there, of course. New York would love some bullpen help, with Tommy Kahnle gone for the year, Chad Green run down, and Aroldis Chapman still rounding into form (um, to say the least). They could certainly use starting pitching, which was the case even before James Paxton went down with a flexor strain.

Turns out, the rumor mill has brought us all that and more. The Yankees are reportedly showing interest in D-Backs outfielder (and former Pirate) Starling Marte.

Take this rumor as you will, but we’re willing to bet it has more to do with Aaron Judge’s readiness than Mike Tauchman and Clint Frazier’s availability, and we’ll find out for certain shortly.

Marte entered this season under almost indescribable duress; he lost his wife Noelia to a heart attack in May, and has now once again buried his nose in baseball as a coping mechanism.

In his first season in Arizona (and the last year of his seven-year extension, prior to his team option for 2021), Marte has punished the baseball, largely in silence. He’s hitting .322 with a pair of homers and a .396 OBP, following a comeback season in Pittsburgh in ’19, too (.295/23/82).

There’s real power and athleticism in Marte’s package, and he becomes all the more appealing as you examine Brian Cashman’s proposed Aaron Judge timeline and begin to wonder if he recovers in full before (shudder) October.

This could theoretically signal the departure of Tauchman or Frazier, sure, but Marte is not a long-term asset. It would make much more sense to read his potential arrival as an Andrew McCutchen-type addition, but with higher upside (McCutchen’s star shine had already been somewhat diminished when he arrived in pinstripes).

If all goes according to plan, Aaron Judge will be in the lineup this postseason, after a doubled-up recovery timetable. But keep your eye on Marte over the course of the next 24 hours.

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