9 Yankees in danger of being replaced at the 2025 trade deadline

The New York Yankees have already struck, making one of the first trade deadline deals with the midsummer hot stove season officially heating up. Ryan McMahon might not be the most exciting addition, but his acquisition is significant enough to be an opening salvo of sorts.

Quickly following up the McMahon trade, Brian Cashman has brought former Met Amed Rosario back to New York, further intensifying the position player logjam. Many more moves are still to come, as the Yankees likely turn their attention to fixing their pitching staff, which has been atrocious of late, as well as considering other options to survive the devastating Aaron Judge injury news.

All of this movement means several current Yankees find themselves on thin ice, in danger of being replaced and losing their jobs over the next few days as the deadline action kicks into high gear.

9 Yankees who find themselves on verge of being replaced by July 31 trade deadline

Infielder Oswald Peraza

Oswald Peraza's status on the team has already taken two major hits with the acquisitions of McMahon and Rosario. Granted a new lease on life earlier this month following the DJ LeMahieu DFA, Peraza did nothing to capitalize on the opportunity to be the club's de facto starting third baseman before McMahon came to town.

The addition of Rosario, though, shows that the writing is on the wall for Peraza, as the former Washington National is expected to take over top utility infielder duties.

The question now is, does Rosario supplant Peraza as the backup shortstop? Rosario came up as a shortstop, however he hasn't regularly played the position since 2023, logging just 14 contests there last season (and just two innings this year). Peraza then might be able to stick around as Anthony Volpe's primary backup, but any other move for another position player would spell the end for Peraza, who is also out of options.

SP/RP Allan Winans

No matter what happens, swingman Allan Winans is not long for this team. With just two big league appearances, one start and one in relief, the soon-to-be 30-year-old is here as a placeholder amid the injury bug that has plagued Yankee pitchers until more suitable reinforcements can be brought in.

After all, with an 8.53 ERA on the season and a minor league option remaining, Winans has done nothing to prove he deserves a spot other than being an arm that can ride the Scranton shuttle and take a beating when needed.

Reliever Jonathan Loaisiga

For some reason, the Yankees decided over the offseason that Jonathan Loaisiga was a "must-have" to complete their bullpen, signing the oft-injured righty to a not-so-insignificant one-year, $5 million deal over the offseason. Once again, they ignored the fact that the last time the Nicaragua native was both healthy and productive was all the way back in 2021.

As the Yankee bullpen has progressively devolved into an increasingly unreliable unit, middle relief has been particularly incendiary, with Loaisiga standing in the center of the flames. In 26 1/3 innings this season, he's produced a 4.78 ERA, 6.16 FIP, and allowed an eye-popping 2.39 HR/9, all of which have been good for a -0.6 fWAR. Forget fireman, Loaisiga has been a straight up arsonist and needs to be replaced ASAP.

Reliever Ian Hamilton

Another one of the prime culprits of the bullpen's failings, Ian Hamilton hasn't been quite as disastrous as Loaisiga, but that doesn't mean his spot should be safe. With a 12.9% walk rate on the season, Hamilton has surrendered far too many free passes and, as a result, has made too many leads disappear.

With an option remaining, the Yankees can stash him in Triple-A should an emergency arise, and would be well-served to upgrade from one of their most middling middle relievers.

Starting Pitcher Will Warren

The Yankees likely will add at least one starting pitcher at the deadline, and possibly more as they look to solidify the rotation around Max Fried and Carlos Rodon at the top (and in light of the massive blow of losing Clarke Schmidt for the season).

No matter how many they add, someone will be the odd man out. For Warren, his Jekyll-and-Hyde-like performance doesn't help his case. After some early-season struggles, he seemed to hit his stride in June with a 2.86 ERA over 28 1/3 innings, just for the calendar to turn to July and have him turn in a 6.29 ERA across 24 1/3 innings, his worst single-month performance of the season.

With options remaining, Warren is the easiest to demote. Even if he were to survive the deadline with his rotation spot intact, a stay of execution won't last long once Luis Gil returns to action.

Starting Pitcher Marcus Stroman

The Marcus Stroman 2025 experience has more twists and turns than a poorly written soap opera. As the pendulum has swung from him being buried on the rotation depth chart — from an essential piece, to a potential trade asset — Stroman is now back to having little value and could soon be shown the door.

Since returning from the IL on June 29, Stroman has actually put together a decent performance with a 4.01 ERA. However, in typical Stroman fashion, just as it seemed things might be coming together, the 34-year-old righty laid an egg against the Philadelphia Phillies in his most recent start, going just 3 2/3 innings while allowing five hits, four walks, and four earned runs.

His status will hinge on two key factors: how many starters the Yankees end up acquiring, and whether or not they determine rookie Cam Schlittler to be a better option to fill the back of the rotation for the 2025 stretch run.

Reliever JT Brubaker

After a lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery that featured other injury issues and multiple setbacks, Brubaker finally returned to the big league mound for the first time since 2022 when he was activated from the 60-day IL last month.

Formerly a starter with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Brubaker has made 10 appearances, logging 13 innings while posting a healthy 48.6% ground ball rate and a respectable 3.46 ERA. The look of those numbers is somewhat deceiving, as Brubaker's sky-high 13.7% walk rate has put a lot of traffic on the bases, and his well-below average 15.7% strikeout rate, combined with a low .229 BABIP that is sure to regress to the mean, forecast a swift end to those rosy results.

The Yankees will need a long man capable of eating innings out of the 'pen. Whether or not that's Brubaker will depend on how they feel about the next man on this list.

Reliever Yerry De Los Santos

Another former Pittsburgh Pirate, De Los Santos, returned to action after being activated from the IL on July 26, and could be the Yankees' answer in long relief. With 15 appearances and 21 2/3 innings pitched on the year, he's shown he can go for multiple innings if needed.

The 2.08 ERA looks sparkling, but like Brubaker, the walk rate (11.9%) is way too high, and the strikeout rate (13.9%) is way too low. Despite that, one of the two likely survives the midseason bullpen makeover.

Starting Pitcher Cam Schlittler

Schlittler, one of the Yankees' top pitching prospects, has tantalized fans in his brief big league stint with his high-octane fastball that flirts with triple digits. However, it's important to remember that the talented youngster was called up not out of a desire to get him big league exposure, but rather out of desperation following Schmidt's injury.

He's only made two starts so far, showing some promise but also some cause for concern, primarily with his command within the strike zone, which, when faltering, has seen a couple of balls deposited into the seats.

His status will depend on how many starters the club adds at the deadline, and whether or not they believe the best case for his long-term development is more time to marinate down at Triple-A, a level where he has only logged 25 1/3 innings throughout his entire professional career.

Schlittler certainly factors into the Yankees' future plans, but do they also envision him as part of their present?