4 players the Yankees should sell and 3 they should keep at trade deadline

DJ LeMahieu

In hindsight, giving DJ LeMahieu a six-year $90 million contract wasn’t smart, but that doesn’t mean the Yankees should sell low on him. In the midst of a season with an 89 wRC+, there have been many lows, but LeMahieu showed some signs of life in July, hitting .260/.375/.356 (109 wRC+).

Given his contract, defensive versatility, and bat that projects to be above average down the stretch, there's no reason to ditch DJLM for pennies on the dollar. While his age is certainly catching up to him, LeMahieu showed last year that he can still be effective and, if he’s healthy, there's clearly still some juice in the tank.

Verdict: Keep

Oswald Peraza

The Yankees’ handling of Oswald Peraza is extremely confusing. Peraza started a game in the postseason last year, but after getting beat out by Anthony Volpe in Spring Training, he has only appeared in 19 MLB games in 2023. Although Peraza spent the majority of his season in the minors, once the Yankees promoted him to the majors in July, they instantly inserted him as their leadoff hitter. What?!

Although Peraza was trusted in the leadoff spot, it didn’t last long, as he was eventually bumped to the bottom of the order and then back to Triple-A when the Yankees needed to clear a spot for Aaron Judge’s return. If the Yankees don’t think Peraza can be an impactful player now when they're pressing for anything offensively, then when will they believe in him? If the answer to that question is not anytime soon, which is what it seems like, then they might as well use him as the centerpiece in a big trade before his value plummets.

Verdict: Trade

Potential fits: Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners