Yankees: 3 players who could be dealt in salary dump trades

Will the Yankees keep cutting payroll? If so, these three could be on the chopping block.

The New York Yankees will have among the largest payrolls in the game in 2021.

It also won’t be large enough.

Intent on staying below the very first luxury tax threshold of $210 million, the Yankees have already proven they’d rather sign several lottery tickets than one sure thing for the rotation — say, Jake Odorizzi.

They’ve also shown that $9 million for Adam Ottavino, a risky bullpen proposition who could be elite but likely wouldn’t have pitched to that salary level, is now an intolerable cost — so intolerable, in fact, that he was shipped to the hated Red Sox.

The Ottavino trade was so predictable that we had it pegged the second the season ended. A team willing to take on sunk cost (like the Dodgers!) would’ve kept Otto in his final year under contract in hopes that he’d turn things around. The Yankees? Thank you, next. We’ve seen enough postseason skittishness.

But what if the Yanks decide they haven’t done enough to clear salary? What if they have a monstrous midseason acquisition in mind? Quite frankly, they don’t have much left on the books that’s clear-able, or would bring about a significant financial benefit.

These three players need to keep their heads on some sort of a swivel this season and next, though. Of these potential deals, one is relatively likely, one you could talk me into, and one seems downright impossible. But they’re the only options the Yanks really have to shed any form of salary, so they’re on the table.

3. Gary Sanchez

The Yankees are going to be monitoring Gary Sanchez’s cost extremely closely in 2021.

Hey, you folks like Gary Sanchez? What about when his salary increases even further?

Based on how frugal the Yanks have been in recent weeks, aren’t you a little surprised they tendered Sanchez a contract at $6.35 million for 2021? Much like picking up Zack Britton’s $13 million option, it seemed like an indication the team wouldn’t be so spend-conscious entering this offseason, and then … they very much were. Out of character, ultimately!

Sanchez has the smallest amount of rope he’s ever had entering 2021, and while there are plenty of reasons to believe in the catcher’s ability from recent history, if his April and May resemble 2021, the Yankees might begin looking to cut bait by engaging teams with plenty of financial wiggle room who love to bank on projectability. Think the Seattle Mariners might want a slugging All-Star catcher from 2017 and 2019 who is still years away from free agency?

If Sanchez had slumped in 2020 on a different team, we’d likely be clamoring for the Yankees to make a play for him as a bounce back candidate. But when the struggles occur in your backyard, you want to ship him out to a rebuilding team that can afford to take chances.

The Yankees’ payroll is divided strangely, and Sanchez is really the only mid-range expense who’d clear a “significant” amount of money without his contract being prohibitive to someone else in a deal. If he doesn’t show marked improvement at the start of the season, look for Sanchez’s name in trade rumors, especially so the Yankees don’t have to entertain a non-tender again at the end of the season.

2. Aaron Hicks

How much patience do the Yankees have for Aaron Hicks?

You won’t see a similar center fielder to Aaron Hicks hit the free agent market in the near future.

But you also … might not see Aaron Hicks for more than 110 games per year.

The Yankees certainly won’t entertain a midseason trade for their starting CF and the only switch-hitter in the everyday lineup, but Hicks is under nearly as much pressure as Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to play 140+ games in 2021 to prove his value to a team that continues to preach cost-cutting.

We’ve detailed it before, but it remains laughably frustrating that the Yankees, who never extend their own players ahead of schedule the way teams like the Rays do, tried it twice in one offseason with Hicks and Luis Severino, only to watch both immediately battle the injury bug and leave the field.

Hicks looked impressive in his return from Tommy John surgery in 2020 (and played through the significant elbow injury to sock a three-run homer off Justin Verlander in the 2019 ALCS), OBPing .379 in 54 games. He’s also under team control through (gasp) 2025, with a team option for 2026 at nearly $11 million annually.

Surely, if the Yankees intend to be frugal again next offseason — or want to squeeze out some payroll responsibilities in favor of Noah Syndergaard or Max Scherzer — they could find an eager taker for the uniquely skilled Hicks. We’d rather they simply keep him and pay for pitching, though. Doing both could be nice.