Yankees: 3 trades NYY should pursue with Texas Rangers

2. Trade for Rougned Odor

The Yankees could unleash the power of Rougned Odor on the short porch.

Rougned Odor will always be the most despised player on the team you’re playing, and the most beloved hitter the second you obtain him.

It’s the reason why I’ve spent years being terrified of his eventual arrival in Boston. Perfect fit, perfect bummer.

But for the purposes of this exercise, let’s go about sending Odor to the Bronx instead, giving the Yanks a bat-first fifth infielder and placing them on the right side of history.

Still somehow just 27 years old in time for the 2021 season (I know, what is going on), Odor is coming off a brutal 60-game stretch of adjusting to both the reality of the pandemic and his power-sucking new ballpark in Arlington (not to be confused with the Ballpark in Arlington).

His .167 average and 47 whiffs in 38 games (woof) may not be indicative of his true talent level, but Odor does come with serious warts. The strikeouts are real, and the low batting average (though likely not that low) may live in the low-.200s, as it did for the full 30-homer sample of 2019.

Somehow, Odor is under years upon years of control, with a team option through 2023 on a reasonable deal. He hasn’t exactly proven himself to be a slam-dunk starter over the past few years, but he does bring a ridiculously potent power bat and fiery emotion (both on the defensive and offensive end) that can help transform a locker room.

Perhaps this is, dare we say it, an interesting opportunity to maximize (gasps) Miguel Andujar in a potential trade?! Both men need fresh starts, both men are bat-forward, and Odor has more of a seamless fit in New York than Andujar does right now. Let’s say the two Miguels (Andujar and No. 15 pitching prospect Yajure) for Odor as a reclamation project. It could work.