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

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.

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.

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.