3 Yankees-Mets trades that would help both teams

2. Brandon Nimmo to the Yankees for Pitching

Could the Yankees replace Brett Gardner with Brandon Nimmo?

For the first time in a long time, the Yankees might be able to use someone else in the Brett Gardner hustle patrol role.

Yes, perhaps Gardy will come back at a discount once the season is ready to start, but it’s difficult to game plan for such things. There are 700 offseason dominoes that have to settle first.

So why not try to take advantage of another Mets surplus, which becomes especially glaring if the team does sign George Springer?

Brandon Nimmo is about as good as a fourth outfielder gets these days, though he’s not quite a star or a 162-game player. Coming off a bizarre 2019 season marred by a million factors in which Nimmo plummeted to just .221 but somehow got on base at a .375 clip (?), he bounced back with .280/.404/.484 in the shortened season and pounded eight homers for good measure.

To pry Nimmo away from a Mets team that wants to contend in the present and future, even without a guaranteed starting role, the Yanks would have to give to get. How about No. 5 prospect Luis Gil, an electric arm, as well as top-10 prospect Yoendrys Gomez, clearing a 40-man roster spot? Gomez is ready now, and Gil can slide into the back end of the rotation/bullpen in 2022.

It may take a slightly bigger overpay to get this done, but Nimmo doesn’t have the juice to start or be the centerpiece of a prospect package anymore. So why not use him to replenish your farm’s weak spot?