3 shocking 'sell high' trades Yankees fans should be prepared for

Kyle Higashioka to Marlins

Buried in the recent rumor that insinuated the Yankees planned to upgrade "their entire roster, every single position" at the trade deadline, Mark Feinsand included a note that the team was looking for catching help. In 2022, they went all in on defense with Jose Trevino, and it paid off; he was an All-Star and Platinum Glove winner, even as his bat sagged late. Kyle Higashioka, who's been this team's quintessential backup for five years, fit well into that plan, too.

But this season, Higgy's been markedly better than Trevino, though not good enough on the whole to cement himself as a starter. He carries a .655 OPS and 80 OPS+, but has been comparatively hot in his past 30 games (.278 with a pair of homers in 72 at-bats). The banged-up Trevi has been worth more bWAR (0.5 to -0.1, based on defense), but has been an absolute non-threat at the plate, with just a 61 OPS+ mark.

Higashioka has one more year under team control, while Trevino has two. Both are backup-quality offensive catchers right now, but Trevino has more upside. We just saw it. And plus, who's falling head-over-heels for him right now? No team interested in a starting catcher is likely to pursue either, but if a borderline contender wants playoff steadiness, they could be persuaded to pick off Higashioka for cheap.

Enter the Miami Marlins? Firmly in the thick of the Wild Card race, they've been rolling with two backup types in Nick Fortes (49 OPS+) and a wildly regressing Jacob Stallings (53 OPS+, -0.1 bWAR). Then, the Yankees could pick up their Dream Catcher for the second half: Ben Rortvedt or Austin Wells, both of whom are already in their system. Fixed that for you.