Jeff Passan connects Yankees to exact 2 third base trade targets they shouldn't want

The New York Yankees desperately need a power-hitting everyday starter at third base at the trade deadline in order to bolster their credentials down the stretch and into October. It's good when a half-season's worth of data helps clarify a team's needs down to the decimal. Unfortunately, the Yankees didn't need the first half to tell them this; they desperately needed a power-hitting everyday starter at third base back in January, never got one, and here we are.

Thankfully, they haven't played themselves out of contention, and an infusion of genuine trade deadline talent could be the midsummer boost the suddenly stale roster has been begging for.

With rumor season fast approaching, ESPN's Jeff Passan laid out the top 50 players who could be on the move, labeling several "best fits" for each of the top 30 names. The Yankees showed up in the margins of Passan's Eugenio Suarez blurb, the Diamondbacks' slugging third sacker who may or may not be more available after Corbin Carroll's fractured wrist. Suarez, too, will sit on Tuesday after being hit by a pitch in the hand; Passan believes he's 50% likely to go, but lists the Yankees behind the Cubs, Brewers and Tigers in the middle of the pack among his trade suitors.

The Yankees have a much clearer path, though, if they want to pursue ... wait for it ... Nolan Arenado or Ryan McMahon, the two third baseman who Passan's labeled them the ideal fit for. Joy. It's nice to get some new blood into the conversation.

ESPN Insider Jeff Passan thinks Ryan McMahon, Nolan Arenado are Yankees' best trade fits. Maybe? Both are bad?

Feels bad.

Arenado felt inevitable this winter before Jack Curry flambeed the rumors and severed the link. After a hot start, the Cardinals' third baseman has followed his team's trend, sitting below a league-average OPS+ at 99 entering play on Tuesday. He's a poor park fit for Yankee Stadium, he's aging into his back injury, and while he might be awoken by a pennant race, he's not a sure enough thing to be worth assets and $31 million through the next two seasons after this one.

As for McMahon? He clutched up while the Yankees were in Colorado and is known for his Gold Glove defense and 20-homer power. Unfortunately, he hasn't provided much more on offense this year than his metronomic dose of pop, hitting .222 with 12 homers and a 97 OPS+ while playing half his games in the thin air of Colorado.

But what does he have in common with Arenado? A contract anchoring him down; he finishes a six-year, $70 million deal after 2027. It's not quite as hefty, but it does represent a longer-term commitment. Don't think it was a coincidence that Passan tied the Yankees explicitly to the middling third base options with worrisome contracts to cover. Just surprised Ke'Bryan Hayes wasn't mentioned, too.