Yankees: 3 players NYY should've traded at peak value over last few years

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman should’ve struck while the iron was hot on these guys.

Call us Captain Hindsight, but you can’t deny the New York Yankees missed the boat on getting maximum values for a few guys they didn’t need to keep — which is even up for debate now given how many injuries we’ve seen over the last two years. Who’s to say what the right move was/is?!

Nonetheless, the Yankees have arguably the best depth in MLB (though it’s been struggling mightily this year), so general manager Brian Cashman has constantly had opportunities to trade from his surplus of sluggers to address other areas of the roster, like defense or pitching.

We’re not saying making such deals was essential, but now the Yankees definitely can’t cash out on a high given how these players have performed over the last couple seasons and/or the start of 2020.

Bummer, right?

Mike Ford #36 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

3. Mike Ford

Yankees fans love Mike Ford, but did we really need him?

The New York Yankees have plenty of lefty bats and a few guys who can play first base. Plus, it’s not entirely difficult to find a solid defensive option at that position. Knowing what they had in Luke Voit and DJ LeMahieu, it is a bit confusing why they didn’t deal Mike Ford when they could’ve when you look back.

The hefty lefty slashed .259/.350/.559 with 30 runs scored, 12 home runs and 25 RBI in 50 games last season. You’re telling me teams wouldn’t have bought high on this guy after that was his first taste of MLB action?! The lefty slugger has a sweet swing and can hold down the fort defensively at first.

Now, Ford’s slashing .149/.237/.299 with five runs scored, two home runs and 11 RBI in 24 games this year. That is untradeable even though it’s a small sample size. Ford has regressed to the mean and has proven (for the moment) he cannot lift himself up when he’s surrounded by other hitters of his caliber.

That could change since we’ve seen what Ford can do, but at the moment his trade value is nonexistent.

Mike Tauchman #39 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) /

2. Mike Tauchman

The Yankees could’ve sold high on Mike Tauchman in the offseason no doubt.

Another Mike the Yankees can no longer trade! Cashman stole Tauchman from the Colorado Rockies for a struggling pitching prospect, and the “Sock Man” burst onto the scene in 2019, slashing .277/.361/.504 with 46 runs scored, 13 home runs and 47 RBI in 87 games while filling in for Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton with admirable defense.

That was his first string of consistent action at the MLB level, too. He’d previously logged 52 total games with the Rox between 2017 and 2018, hitting a measly .153. Though Tauchman’s OBP has remained constant since last year, he’s endured a 4-for-34 slump as of late that has unveiled his true weaknesses.

Now, he’s hitting .247 with a .667 OPS. He has 0 home runs and just 9 RBI. Like Ford, he’s regressed to the mean, showing rival GMs that he indeed cannot hit the ball hard consistently, barreling just 1.9% of pitches this season with a weak 85.4 MPH exit velocity and a 26.4% hard hit rate, all of which are in the bottom 8% of the entire MLB.

His defense has taken a step back, too. After registering a 1.6 dWAR in 2019, he’s a -0.1 in 2020. Can’t really trade that for much now, can you? We’re not sure why Cashman didn’t get out of the casino while he could here. The Yankees have plenty of outfielders, and depth at that position is by far the easiest to come by.

Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees – (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

1. Gary Sanchez

We don’t want to beat the dead horse, but the Yankees should’ve seen Sanchez’s demise long ago.

When Gary Sanchez took MLB by storm in 2016 with his 20 home runs in 53 games, the Yankees thought they had their catcher of the future. He followed that up with another tremendous showing in 2017, logging an All-Star campaign by slashing .278/.345/.531 with 79 runs scored, 33 homers and 90 RBI in just 122 games.

But since then? Though he was an All-Star in 2019 (likely only because of his home run numbers, which featured 34 blasts in 106 games), he’s slashed .201/.297/.457 in 227 games. Over that span, he’s struck out 267 times. Initially, his contributions on offense outweighed his shortcomings on defense. Not anymore.

Though justifying trading Sanchez before 2018 was near impossible, perhaps at some point in 2018 or during his poor second half in 2019 could’ve seen the Yankees come out on top with a big-name pitching prospect, among other things.

His defense has actually gotten worse over that span, so it’s not like the front office couldn’t see the obvious cracks in his game. The roster has had enough firepower and sluggers to make up for the loss of Sanchez, even when he wasn’t a liability.

Once talked about as a potential piece in a Noah Syndergaard trade, one could argue El Gary won’t fetch a mediocre package of prospects at this point. Given the Yankees’ eternal need for starting pitching, it really isn’t all that crazy for the Yankees to have previously explored trades involving their star catcher when you consider all the moves they’ve made over the years to improve the power in their lineup.

Now, Yankees fans are stuck with Gary whether they like it or not.

Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees in action against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on August 31, 2020 in New York City. Tampa Bay Rays defeated the New York Yankees 5-3. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

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Yankees: 3 players NYY should’ve traded at peak value over last few years