4 players acquired via trade the Yankees need more out of in 2022

This current New York Yankees roster has largely been built through trades and homegrown players. Would you crap your pants if we told you the only “big” free agent expenditures are Gerrit Cole and DJ LeMahieu? Seriously, there’s no one else. That’s how little the Yankees have spent in free agency over the last five or so years.

Dating back to 2016, general manager Brian Cashman has orchestrated countless trades to upgrade the roster. Some have failed (Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn) while others have become important pieces (not going to name them so we don’t spoil what’s to come).

However, some of those important pieces have either not yet panned out (because the trades recently happened) or have regressed, both of which have contributed to the Yankees’ stunning lack of success these last two seasons.

Heading into 2022, though, with so much on the line before a number of even more important roster decisions have to be made, New York needs a lot more out of these previous trade acquisitions if they hope to be a true contender in the American League.

Cashman’s trades have affected every pocket of this roster. Seriously. From the bullpen to the rotation to the position players and even the farm system, his moves have had wide-reaching ramifications.

But who exactly needs to improve their production given their importance to this roster as we approach a new season?

These 4 Yankees acquired via trade need to perform better in 2022.

4. Jameson Taillon

For what Jameson Taillon endured between 2017 and 2020, his 2021 season was actually really good. Battling testicular cancer and overcoming a second Tommy John surgery after having hardly pitched since the beginning of 2019 was never going to yield the best results. There were always going to be limitations when he was acquired from the Pirates.

He finished the year with a 4.30 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 29 starts. He struck out 140 batters in 144.1 innings of work. This was all after he changed his mechanics and he managed to improve his overall numbers despite a disastrous start to the season.

Unfortunately, he needed ankle surgery after the season and that’s definitely affected his offseason, but that’s light work compared to what he’s been through. The truth is, the Yankees acquired him before last season for what he could do in 2022. They knew there’d be growing pains and issues in 2021.

Taillon has top-of-the-rotation potential, as evidenced by his 2018 campaign when he finished with a 3.20 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 122 ERA+ and 1.18 WHIP in 32 starts (191 innings). Though that’s a tall ask, the Yankees need something in between that and his showing last year. If he can be a mid-3.00 ERA pitcher, this trade will be deemed a huge success and the starting rotation would be stabilized more than we could’ve ever hoped for.

He has the potential to be the guy we hand the ball to in a five-game playoff series. He doesn’t need to be that, but he needs to get closer to it.

2. Aaron Hicks

The Yankees never sign players to contract extensions. Never. “Company policy.” Can we get human resources in here for unfair treatment? Oh, wait … they recently broke protocol there and paid a few guys? That’s great! Well, the idea was great, but the execution was … disastrous.

One of the players who got an extension was Luis Severino. Four years and $40 million to pitch 18 innings since 2019. Brilliant. The next was Aaron Hicks, who was given an unthinkable seven-year, $70 million extension after he was acquired from the Twins back in 2016 for catcher John Ryan Murphy. Both of these came before the 2019 season.

The crazy part about this was Hicks had a well-documented injury history and the Yankees decided to give him all that money after his LONE full, productive campaign in 2018. Ever since, he’s played in 145 of a possible 384 games, and his last 86 games played all came while he was dealing with a troubling wrist ailment that eventually needed surgery. So he pretty much hasn’t been healthy ever since signing that extension.

But his importance to the team is still obvious. He’s a switch-hitting center fielder. The Yankees needed his lefty bat to balance out the lineup in addition to his athleticism and arm in center field to avoid having Brett Gardner play in 140 games per year. We know, it’s been said countless times that he cannot be the Opening Day starting center fielder. But who else is there?! There’s nobody.

If Hicks can work some walks, cover decent ground in center and hit ~20 home runs, the Yankees will be that much better. And that’s not even asking a lot for what he’s capable of.

1. Gleyber Torres

The first two years of Gleyber Torres were unlike anything modern day Yankees fans have ever seen. He hit 62 homers and recorded 167 RBI in 267 games. And he made a great tandem with Didi Gregorius up the middle. The kid was unbelievable.

Then came 2020 when he was moved to shortstop, which was the plan all along. But he wasn’t comfortable. He couldn’t cover ground, his throws looked oddly forced and mistimed, and his bat suffered (we can assume as a result of the position change).

OK, fine, 2020 was bad for everyone. Give him another chance in 2021. A fresh start with a full 162-game slate ahead. He’s got to improve.

Not quite. He somehow regressed! His defense got worse and he hit just nine home runs in 127 games (after hitting three in 42 the year prior). After the first month or two of the season, it was evident he was not going to be the shortstop of the future … but the Yankees waited until mid-September to make the switch. Though it was only a 2.5-week sample size, Torres’ bat rebounded and he looked a lot more comfortable defensively.

Though the Yankees now have a shortstop problem on their hands, they need Torres to play like a semblance of the franchise cornerstone he was believed to be back in 2019. Not asking for 40 homers, but 25 will do. A return to hitting ~.270 will also help after he hit .255 over the last two seasons. Would make a big difference!

Torres lengthening the lineup and not being a defensive liability is really all that’s needed. Again, not asking for much. The original expectations were that he’d be the crown jewel of the 2016 Aroldis Chapman trade with the Cubs. We’ve seen both ends of the spectrum. At this point, we’ll settle for something in the middle. And the Yankees won’t have to worry about what to do with a 25-year-old player with all the talent in the world.

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