5 Yankees most likely to be dealt at the trade deadline

The New York Yankees are in an interesting spot approaching the 2023 MLB trade deadline -- or, at least, interesting to trainwreck enthusiasts.

With Aaron Judge returning and Gerrit Cole dealing, both within their primes, this team technically owes the roster and fan base a few "get right" moves in an effort to sneak into the dance and make some noise. Their Wild Card and AL East deficits are far from insurmountable, even though this fan base knows better by now.

But the 2023 Yankees aren't a Juan Soto away from automatic contention. No matter what they do on Tuesday, they'll need Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton to perform better. That's no secret.

They'll also need to shed some salary to make room for mid-tier imports.

Brian Cashman will need to thread 100 different needles this week to reinvigorate the Yankees, and these five Bombers could find themselves on the outs while the transition occurs.

Ranking the Yankees most likely to be gone before the trade deadline

Harrison Bader

Knowing that the Yankees intend to supplement their roster and find (at least) a platoon partner for Jake Bauers/Billy McKinney, trading Gleyber Torres seems out of the question. Considering how unwilling the team has been to hand the job outright to Oswald Peraza, if they have designs on contending in 2024, they'll be keeping Torres. They certainly have those designs. He'd rank seventh here, with Clarke Schmidt in the No. 6 spot.

Bader is a free agent at the end of the season, and has been widely speculated as an extension candidate in New York. Did his price rise too high for the Yankees when he was sparking victories throughout April, May and June? Is it low enough to make sense for Brian Cashman that he's battled injuries and ineffectiveness this summer? Is a "moderate bat, high energy, impressive defense, poor health" center fielder worth a long-term financial commitment?

If the Yankees deem Bader to be a luxury, not a necessity, they might try to send him to a contender at the deadline. Who knows? He might even re-sign anyway with a handshake agreement. It seems more likely than not, though, that his future is too uncertain to make him a long-term Yankee.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa

As Billy McKinney and Jake Bauers have taken turns making surprising memories this season, Isiah Kiner-Falefa has gotten fewer and fewer starts (though he performed shockingly well at the plate in the absence of Aaron Judge, hitting .275 in June and .293 in July with above-average OPS+ marks in every month of the season besides April.

He makes $6 million this season, which is prorated down to $2 million for any team that could acquire him this summer. He's a free agent at the end of this season. He's done everything the Yankees have asked of him, including moving to the outfield despite having no experience at it. His inexperience, despite all his effort, has shone.

Will Kiner-Falefa be a Yankee beyond this season if he isn't dealt? Is there any chance New York extends an admittedly below-average bat and glues him to the bench/super utility role? He's good in that role, as long as he's kept out of center/left field (excepting emergencies). But is there really a middle ground for this team to keep a non-starter at ~$7-8 million, with all their other rising costs? He could continue his 2023 heater and make a contender in need of solid ABs very happy. Maybe Milwaukee comes calling? They're interested in Jon Berti. IKF can approximate his skill set.

Wandy Peralta

Remember when Aaron Boone used Wandy Peralta for one batter in a game on Friday night that he was ostensibly trying to win/send to extras? One pitch. One, solitary pitch. That was weird.

Peralta, a free agent at the end of the season, is making just $3.35 million this season, so dealing him would save New York just over a million. He wouldn't get them under the top tier of the luxury tax by himself, but he'd get them close.

He was trending in a positive direction in his past seven outings following Friday night, totaling five walk-free shutout innings. Control has been the 32-year-old's bugaboo this season, and advanced metrics have long suggested that his 2.29 ERA is due for some regression. Based on his walk rate, Statcast pegs his expected ERA as 4.78. There's no doubt that Boone, Cashman and Co. are watching his peripherals like a ticking time bomb, hoping he can last through the end of the season on a heater -- or maybe just through Aug. 1.

Peralta is a postseason horse and a quirky Yankee icon. Unfortunately, entering free agency, he might be better off elsewhere for the season's final two months, depending on the return package.

Luis Severino

Luis Severino is the biggest-ticket item on this watchlist. His 2023 salary counts against the luxury tax for $12.25 million after the Yankees picked up his option for the season. He's rewarded their faith by scuffling in spring training, hitting the IL just before the campaign began, and returning without most of his fastball's trademark hop.

His past two starts entering Sunday's game have looked closer to fine, but on the season, he's subtracted nearly a win from the Yankees while maintaining a 1.730 WHIP and striking out less than a batter per inning. That should ... never happen from someone who regularly pumps 99 when healthy (he's also been sitting 95-96 on occasion, somehow losing his mechanics midstream).

With Nestor Cortes Jr. on the road to recovery, one of Severino, Clarke Schmidt and Domingo Germán will ideally be out of a rotation spot in the coming weeks. If some team dared to take a chance on capturing the best of Severino in August and September, and was also willing to take on enough of his salary to make it all make sense, the Yankees would surely wave the white flag on this brutal option year, despite recent strides. If they have to attach a big-ticket prospect to get it done, though -- or absorb all the money -- expect New York's braintrust to ride it out and try to sell a different starter instead.