Persistent Yankees-Oneil Cruz trade buzz could make bad defense even crazier

Jeff Passan says Oneil Cruz won't be traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates this summer. Mark Feinsand says Ben Cherington would have to be "bowled over" by an offer to make it happen. And yet ... the New York Yankees persist.

Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was the first to make the Yankees' interest in Cruz, who mashed an electrifying 513-foot home run in this year's Derby, explicit. About 24 hours after revealing that Cruz had been receiving "notable trade interest," he clarified that the Yankees were among the teams to check in.

Checking in is nothing more than a nudge sometimes, and even Hiles thinks that Cruz won't be on the move (at least, not midsummer).

On the flip side, though, the Pirates have also registered their interest in Yankees No. 2 prospect Carlos Lagrange. He'd be too hefty an ask for a Mitch Keller or David Bednar package — and kind of makes no sense for Pittsburgh, given their farm system's current pitching stockpile — but he'd fit right into a package for the controllable Cruz. Maybe it's just breadcrumb work for the offseason, but ... huh.

Yankees connected to Pirates' Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh seeking Carlos Lagrange

Adding fuel to the fire, MLB insider Jon Heyman confirmed the Yankees' conversations regarding Cruz, and labeled the price as predictably "steep".

Just about when Hiles' reporting was starting to feel like a blip on the radar ... there comes Heyman, in the wake of the Mariners pulling the trigger on a Josh Naylor trade.

Certified "Hmm" status.

So, where would Cruz go? There's the rub. He came up as an erratic shortstop (the Yankees certainly don't have enough of those!) before moving to center field midseason last year under some duress. The Yankees don't have a need in center; Jasson Dominguez needs fewer impediments in front of him, not more. If the Yankees do pull the prohibitively priced trigger on Cruz, it kind of ... sort of ... feels like they'd stash his howitzer arm at third and just see what happens, in much the same way they did with Jazz Chisholm Jr. last year.

Considering Jack Curry's insistence that they're not enamored with Eugenio Suarez, Ke'Bryan Hayes or Ryan McMahon, don't say we didn't warn you if this simmer turns into a boil, and if the Yankees' defense gets even more questionable.