3 players the New York Yankees should keep and 3 they should trade

Yankees Should Trade: Everson Pereira

Pereira, despite a difficult month of September, has not seen his prospect shine erased as defiantly as Peraza's. The swing-and-miss is one thing, but Pereira still put up the second highest average exit velocity of any of Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects in 2023, and that's the data smart teams attach themselves to during trade talks. The Yankees had better hope the results are there quickly in 2024 so they can boost his value back up a bit with tangibles, but ... you can only commit to so many outfielders long-term. Can the fan base agree that the trio of Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Jasson Dominguez deserve that type of deferential treatment? What about Spencer Jones?

If the metrics are this attractive, you can't stay too attached to your fifth-in-line outfielder. Pereira makes more sense as a great chip than a future Yankee. And speaking of...

Yankees Should Keep: Spencer Jones

Jones was the only top prospect on BA's list to top Pereira's average exit velocity. His athleticism is top-tier. He's a completely unique post-college prospect -- or, at least, he would be, if Aaron Judge didn't exist. He's absolutely not the type of guy you dangle for Dylan Cease, or a half-season of any other rental du jour.

There's a chance he's unable to put his considerable tools together, sure. There's always that chance. But his odds of success increase the longer he stays in the same organization with Judge, and the Yankees should be very hesitant to deprive him of that opportunity. As he told The Athletic recently, he warned his San Diego friends that he wouldn't be going anywhere during the Soto trade talks. The Yankees had better keep it that way.