Yankees: 3 salary-matching trades that can help NYY address needs

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The Yankees can change things up in a big way without adding money to the payroll.

We don’t have all the answers — just some good old suggestions, explorations and hypotheticals, that’s all. And that’s what this is!

We’re in the middle of pandemic baseball still, and the notion that teams are not going to want to add a lot of money to their payrolls will loom large as long as there’s no vaccine or guarantee that fans will be in the stands in 2021. That’s a big problem for teams that badly need to upgrade after a lackluster 2020.

The New York Yankees are one of those teams, but lucky for them, they just need to do some old-fashioned shuffling. If they don’t want to add much more money beyond hypothetical deals for DJ LeMahieu and Masahiro Tanaka, then they can execute some salary-matching trades that work to benefit both parties in the deal.

That’s exactly what we explored here. We took a look at deals that include zero prospects. It’s purely talent/contract-swapping to help the Yankees and these hypothetical trade partners address other areas of need while dumping some salaries or dealing from areas of strength.

Will these happen? Probably not. Are they good? We’d like to think so, but you know we’ll be hearing a ton in the comments about these. Have at it. Time for some fun.

Whit Merrifield #15 (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

3. Call Up Kansas City

This is a mouthful, but a big swap with the Royals could help the Yankees immensely.

The Royals are in the basement of the AL Central and could use an infusion of young talent. Though this wouldn’t exactly solve all their issues, the Yankees can help finally push them in the right direction and get their rebuild moving. But they’ll have to take one undesirable contract in this scenario.

How about this?

Yankees acquire: Salvador Perez ($14.2 million), Whit Merrifield ($6.75 million) and Josh Staumont (~$600K)
Royals acquire: Adam Ottavino ($9 million), Gary Sanchez (~$6 million) and Clint Frazier (~$2.1 million) and Luis Cessa (~$1.2 million)

Benefits for the Royals? Goodbye to Perez’s high salary when he’s completely unneeded. They have a pitcher in Ottavino they can perhaps “fix” or maybe he’ll benefit just by being in a smaller spotlight. Cessa is a solid arm under control that can provide relief in the middle of the bullpen. Frazier can be a cornerstone in the outfield. Sanchez is under contract through 2022 and can be used as a DH and get part-time duties behind the plate with Cam Gallagher. The Royals managed to fix the strikeout-happy Jorge Soler and turned him into a home run hitting machine. Maybe they can do the same with Sanchez. Who knows.

Parting with Merrifield and Staumont will be tough, but these guys truly have no place on a team that isn’t contending, and that’s especially the case for Merrifield. Staumont is a promising bullpen arm, but by the time the Royals get everything together, he’ll be ready to hit the open market. Instead, you can move them both, get an extra contributing player, and multiple guys under control for at least the next 2-4 years who can help you win now.

As for the Yanks, Merrifield is perfect for this team. We’ve discussed that enough. Staumont can be a big sixth- or seventh-inning guy. Perez will give us a reliable bat at the catcher position and stellar defense behind the plate, though it’ll only be for one year.

The Yankees’ prime window is here for the next 2-3 seasons. All these guys line up perfectly for that.

ST LOUIS, MO – SEPTEMBER 25: Josh Hader #71 of the Milwaukee Brewers delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh inning during game one of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium on September 25, 2020 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

2. Yanks Finally Get Josh Hader From Brewers

Yankees fans have been dying for Josh Hader. So what about this deal?

The Milwaukee Brewers may have made the playoffs this past season, but they limped in with a 29-31 record and then got destroyed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. This team has pitching issues but could also look for a re-tool in some capacity to add some more veterans as well as young talent.

And their winning window is weird. Christian Yelich is the future, but beyond that, nobody is signed long-term. Perhaps they’re going for it in the short-term, and the Yankees can help them both now and down the road.

Let’s take a stab at this:

Yankees acquire: Lorenzo Cain ($17 million) and Josh Hader (~$5.5 million)
Brewers acquire: Aaron Hicks ($10.79 million) and Zack Britton ($13 million)

No prospects need to be included here. Cain is signed through the next two seasons and Hader through the next three. Hicks is under contract through 2025 and Britton, if the Yankees pick up his option, will be signed through 2022. So you’re losing one year of Hader in exchange for two years of Britton and an extra three years of Hicks (if you compare his deal to Cain’s). Not a bad deal if you ask us.

The Brewers get more experience and a more cost-effective option in the outfield. The Yankees get a contact bat (.288 career average) and base-stealer (48 swipes across 2018 and 2019) in Cain as well as another powerful lefty reliever in Hader to pair with Chapman in the back end of the bullpen.

It might not seem like a momentous swap with a clear gain/winner, but this offseason will be about the little changes, and an aggressive hitter like Cain could be the difference in this lineup for the next two years.

Aroldis Chapman #54 formerly of the Chicago Cubs (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

1. Blockbuster Deal With the Chicago Cubs

The Yankees can make a big trade with the Cubs … again.

Call us crazy for this one, but it’s clear the Chicago Cubs need a shake-up arguably worse than we do. They disappointed in a colossal way in 2020 after dropping the National League Wild Card Series to the Miami Marlins … and they were swept.

And here, we can help solve the Cubs’ bullpen issues as well as our contact-hitting/left-handed bat issues. But this one is a six-player deal in order to make it fair and have the salaries match. Let’s take a look at this hypothetical behemoth:

Yankees acquire: Anthony Rizzo ($16.5 million), David Bote ($1.01 million) and Victor Caratini (~$1.4 million)
Cubs acquire: Aroldis Chapman ($17.2 million), Luke Voit (projected $5.8 million), and Tyler Wade (~$700K)

These salaries don’t match up perfectly, but the Cubs have a lot of money coming off the books and we’re sure they’d love to take on a guy like Voit (though we’d rather not see him go) with that kind of production at first base.

Chapman goes back to the Cubs and helps anchor the bullpen so Craig Kimbrel can move into a setup role (or literally anything else but the closer). Tyler Wade gives the Cubs stout defensive versatility and a left-handed bat, the former of which Chicago will lose by parting with Bote.

As for the Yankees, Rizzo hops in at first base with his stout glove and left-handed bat. He’s a career .271 hitter and on-base machine, so the Bombers would get the best of both worlds. Caratini can become a platoon guy with Higashioka and provide more reliable defense behind the plate in addition to a solid bat (.250 average, .699 OPS in 246 career games). Bote would be a roaming infield guy (he can play first, second or third if needed) and his bat would benefit greatly in this stacked lineup. He’s got great potential but it’s largely been untapped in Chicago.

And the Cubs can absorb these losses. They have Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ, both of whom feel like franchise cornerstones and can provide defensive versatility like Bote. Prospect catcher Miguel Amaya can find a role after Caratini is moved. Rizzo departing avoids yet another future contract headache for Theo Epstein.

The Cubs window is open for both the short- and long-term and this deal helps them in each regard.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 08: Catcher Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees visits Starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka #19 of the New York Yankees on the mound in the bottom of the first inning of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on September 08, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

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