3 Yankees-Mariners trades we’re surprised haven’t happened yet

1. Mitch Haniger Trade

Unfortunately, Mitch Haniger is not a lefty bat.

Fortunately, he’s definitely a bounce-back candidate ready to slug again after 600 days of inactivity and some, ahem, nasty lower body injuries and surgical procedures.

The other Mitchy Two-Bags, who racked up 38 of those bad boys alongside 26 dingers in a breakout 2018, isn’t the ideal Yankees trade candidate. But if the team intends to bring back Mike Tauchman and let Brett Gardner seek his $5-7 million elsewhere, they could lean on Tauchman for the platoon advantage and absorb Haniger’s $3.1 million salary as he attempts to make it back to the bigs.

This is around the time you’ll start hearing all sorts of reports about Haniger’s status and return to form in Arizona, which the Mariners are more than happy to leak if it means they can open up immediate playing time for Taylor Trammell, with Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez trailing close behind.

There’s a major youth movement going on in the Mariners’ outfield, giving the Yankees a chance to pick up a 2018 All-Star at a significant discount and reap the reward, handedness be damned.

Will the Yankees pull off a Mitch Haniger trade?

Probably not — and the Mariners might want to hold him ’til the deadline, anyway.

But if they’re not confident in his injury recovery, they might try to pry a mid-teens-level prospect away from a front-running team like the Yankees before the season kicks off.

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

These New York Yankees might wind up in salary dump trades before the deadline if they remain intent on constantly cutting payroll.