Aaron Judge injury, Giancarlo Stanton switch should fully change Yankees' trade plans

When the New York Yankees traded for Ryan McMahon, fans very much acknowledged that was a significant upgrade for a team that has essentially been playing without a third baseman for a few years now. But in less than 24 hours, everything changed.

Yup, we've acquired Amed Rosario! We win the trade deadline! Hand us the 2025 World Series already, why don't you?!

Aaron Judge is hitting the injured list with a flexor strain in his right arm. He'll be out for a minimum of 10 days and will be limited to DH duties upon his return. This team is losing ground by the hour. They only have a 1.5-game lead in the Wild Card and trail the Blue Jays by 6.5 games in the AL East.

By the time Judge is theoretically able to return, how much worse will it get? Will it be too late? There are still five games before the trade deadline, and he will miss another 4-5 games after that. The Yankees' solution in the meantime? Work Giancarlo Stanton into their defensive rotation.

Stanton hasn't played defense since 2023, and he hasn't logged more than 40 games out there since 2018. He's dealing with two elbow injuries and has been as hobbled as can possibly be this year. And this is a recipe to help the Yankees stop their 14-23 slide (the second-worst mark in MLB since June 13)? What if Judge is forced to miss more time than expected on the defensive side? We're going to watch how much of Stanton and Jasson Dominguez fumbling around in the outfield?

Judge's injury might sound like there's a light at the end of the tunnel because it's not the UCL tear everybody initially feared, but it's hard to predict. He even said so in his postgame interview on Saturday. It's all about how his body responds. Pitchers deal with flexor strains all the time, and more often than not they are precursors to worse ailments.

Due to the unpredictability, the Yankees cannot strictly remain in a "buy now" mode for 2025. Like the McMahon trade, anything Brian Cashman decides to do must target 2026 and beyond. No more Rosario moves. He must focus on selling short-term pieces and/or figuring out a way to get ahead of the offseason. What could that look like?

• Explore extending Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr.
• Trade Devin Williams, Paul Goldschmidt, Marcus Stroman and/or Trent Grisham to acquire meaningful pieces for next year and beyond (relievers, depth, prospects, etc.) and/or free up payroll
• DFA Oswald Peraza and move on
• Create a better path to playing time for Dominguez, Ben Rice and Spencer Jones
• Revamp the bullpen with smaller deals and see how many ineffective pitchers you can part with

Outside of that, there are no advisable moves for the Yankees to make. They cannot possibly push their chips to the middle of the table if Judge is currently hobbled and not guaranteed to get back to 100% this year. No cast of players within their grasp at this year's deadline will help stop this current run of form that has only gotten worse (with absolutely no end in sight).

This approach wouldn't signal the Yankees waving the white flag. They'd still be buying in some capacity, but it'd be more of the hybrid variety as they look to prioritize what's more important. With the trade deadline getting more and more difficult to navigate every year for contenders in full blown "buy" mode, there's no reason to force making win-now acquisitions when the market is thin and the ones to choose from aren't worth the asking price.