Yankees: Former MLB GM provides trade scenarios that could help NYY

Fans (we’re not sure fans of exactly who, though) weren’t thrilled with our trade package suggestions for a potential New York Yankees-Oakland Athletics deal involving first baseman Matt Olson.

Some of it we can understand. The overall outrage in regard to potentially trading for a player who could very well be on the block? Don’t get it.

So if you don’t like us doing it, how about some trade scenarios courtesy of a former MLB general manager? Jim Bowden, who now writes for The Athletic and isn’t entirely well-received by baseball fans on Twitter, suggested a few offseason trades for the Yankees (subscription required).

And we’ll tell ya this … they’re MUCH more egregious than anything we’ve proposed in recent articles. That means every scenario must be taken into consideration because if a former GM thinks these are possible, then, really, anything is.

Would you look at that … one of the trades includes a potential deal for Olson! The other features Gary Sánchez getting moved. And one more that everyone’s going to love: the old Clint Frazier-Miguel Andújar package from 2019.

Let’s dive in … and if you don’t like these, please don’t kill the messenger. We’ve gotten enough of the hate mail already.

A Former MLB GM proposed these offseason trades for the New York Yankees.

3. “Trade first baseman Luke Voit, second baseman Gleyber Torres and right-handed pitcher Domingo Germán to the Oakland Athletics for first baseman Matt Olson”

So we had Voit headlining one Olson package and Torres headlining another, and we didn’t even think to include Germán. We thought about doing Voit and Torres together, but that really eliminates the A’s ability to get their hands on a top prospect. However, it doesn’t seem Bowden thinks Oakland will care about that.

Seems a bit outlandish, no? The A’s, in trading Olson, are essentially waving the white flag in an attempt to do a quick about-face rebuild/retool. Voit and Torres are under one more year of control than Olson. Is this really what Billy Beane wants?

2. “Trade outfielder Clint Frazier and third baseman Miguel Andújar to the Miami Marlins in exchange for right-handed starting pitcher Pablo López if his medicals are cleared”

You want to talk about unrealistic? One could argue Frazier and Andújar aren’t even major league starters at this point. In fact, that’s not even a crazy argument! They couldn’t even make it on the Yankees’ bench. On the other hand, though the 25-year-old Lopez missed a lot of time with a rotator cuff strain in 2021, he broke out the last two seasons, pitching to a 3.26 ERA in his last 31 starts.

We know the Marlins need players to fill gaps in their lineup … we’re just not sure Frazier and Andújar are the proper duo to swipe a promising young pitcher from them. If you want to call anything crazy, it’s this.

1. “Trade top right-handed pitching prospects Deivi García and Yoendrys Gómez along with catcher Gary Sánchez to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for catcher Willson Contreras”

Garcia, who’s no longer a viable trade candidate given his disastrous 2021 at Triple-A, and Gary Sánchez, whose escalating salary in arbitration can be viewed more of a liability than an asset, are controversial to include in any trade package.

But somehow, this one actually doesn’t even make sense for New York. Sánchez and Willson Contreras will essentially cost the same in 2022 and you’re only upgrading slightly on the defensive side of the ball (certainly not enough to view this as a win behind the plate) AND it would cost the Yankees two top pitching prospects?

For as bad as Deivi was, we’d still like to see him get through this slump instead of dumping him for one year of a regressing catcher. And Yoendrys Gomez? If we’re trading two top-10 pitching prospects, the return feels like it should be greater than this. At that point, just roll the dice with Sánchez for one more year instead of surrendering valuable assets.

If you thought our somewhat generous proposals were bad, what do you think of these?

Yankees: 3 trade packages that could land Matt Olson from Athletics

New York Yankees Twitter is getting hot and talking about trading for Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson. Let's explore it.