Yankees: 4 players who should be traded this offseason

Look, we already know. The New York Yankees surely aren’t going to trade this many players. They honestly might look to move just one of them. But that won’t stop us from trying to fix this team.

There are so many problems right now that it’s hard to pinpoint what’s held the Bombers back. Right now, it appears as if general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone are returning, so we can rule out any grand infrastructure changes.

It’d be a massive oversight to absolve those two men of any blame, but this roster and the product on the field does perhaps bear a large amount of the responsibility for falling short each of the past two seasons. Though there are obvious issues with the overall roster construction, there’s no excuse for this lineup to have TWO above-average hitters in the 2021 starting lineup (we’re not counting Anthony Rizzo, who was slightly above-average, because he was only here for two months).

That’s right, only Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton registered OPS+ numbers over 100 (the league average). Meanwhile, the Red Sox had SEVEN. The Rays had seven, too. The Blue Jays had six.

We’re constantly having nightmares about the Yankees running this whole operation back one final time in 2022, which very well might happen.

But if Cashman has any sense of urgency, he’ll make significant changes in the coming months and retool the roster by trading an assortment of these four players (or maybe all of them) to usher in a new era in the Bronx … because this one certainly isn’t “it.”

The Yankees should explore trading these four players in the offseason.

4. Aaron Hicks

It’s harsh, but it needs to happen. Hicks is a center fielder who no longer has a cannon of an arm, which has been torn apart by elbow injuries. He’s also proven that his productive years at the plate are more of an outlier than the norm.

Additionally, since arriving in New York back in 2016, Hicks has played in 493 out of a possible 870 games. And somehow he was rewarded with a seven-year contract extension before the 2019 season.

The best thing the Yankees can do is find someone in need of a veteran switch-hitting outfielder at a decent price ($10 million per season through 2025) and eat a portion of the deal. Get whatever you can in return. It doesn’t matter. Hicks is entering his age-32 season, hardly brings any value, and is regressing fast.

Freeing up this money matters the most because we know the Yankees are going to be cheap once again this offseason. If they can create another $7-$10 million in space under the luxury tax, Cashman will have a lot more to work with.

3. Luke Voit

Most Yankees fans don’t want him gone, but this is just the reality of the situation. The Yankees disrespected and jerked Voit around during the final month and a half of the 2021 season and we don’t see how this relationship is salvageable.

Voit, like Hicks, has largely been hampered by injuries during his time in the Bronx. However, the difference is that Voit has produced at a clip well above average when he’s actually on the field. Just look at his OPS+ numbers since 2018:

• 2018: 193 (in 39 games after coming over via trade)
• 2019: 124 (in 118 games before succumbing to a sports hernia)
• 2020: 157 (in 56 games during the 60-game shortened season)
• 2021: 109 (in 68 games after being held back by knee and oblique injuries)

He’s not exactly a sure glove at first base, but that kind of offensive output has value on the trade market, especially since he’s under club control through the 2024 season. Maybe package him with one of these other guys to sweeten the deal and get a decent return?

We can expect the Yankees to prioritize Rizzo, who certainly fits with this roster in more ways than one, and they sacrificed Voit’s future when they made that loud and clear after July 30. We don’t see a scenario in which the Bombers keep Rizzo and Voit or let Rizzo go and keep Voit. Keeping Rizzo and trading Voit or retaining neither seem to be the likeliest scenarios.

2. Joey Gallo

*Insert Simpsons GIF of old guy walking in and out of random establishment*

Because of Cashman’s failure to balance this lineup with lefties (they really came into 2021 relying on Aaron Hicks to provide most of those lefty at-bats), he had to go out and acquire two at the trade deadline. One was Rizzo and the other was Joey Gallo, who, for some reason, was among the leading candidates fans wanted to see grab a midseason role.

OK, sure, bolstering your team with players who are theoretically good is never a bad thing, but Gallo was a carbon copy of what this Yankees team already had and didn’t need. In fact, all they needed was his Gold Glove-caliber defense in the outfield, and they didn’t even get that because they played him in left, which was the outfield spot he had the least experience with.

On offense, Gallo was dreadful. He was below average in just about every single category despite finally being protected by superior hitters after wasting away on a lowly Rangers team for years. He hit .160 with a .707 OPS. He had just 22 RBI in 58 games. He struck out 88 times in 228 plate appearances. He was an All-Star before arriving in New York … and then promptly became one of the game’s most incompetent hitters during the second half.

Are we sure the Yankees want to play closer to $10 million for Gallo in 2022, which is his final year before free agency? Trading him with a full year of club control remaining could coax another team to bite. When all was said and done, Gallo’s 2021 numbers weren’t far off from his career averages. Plus, another team could actually use him where he’s comfortable defensively.

At this point, wouldn’t you rather an extended look at Estevan Florial, Greg Allen, or literally almost anybody else in free agency that would be cheaper and bring a different element to the game than the redundant Gallo does?