This versatile infielder would be a horrible buy-low Yankees trade target

Regardless of whether or not the Yankees go through with, and stick to, the plan of moving Jazz Chisholm Jr. to third base upon his impending return, the team will likely have its eyes on adding another infielder at the trade deadline.

In a perfect world, such a player would have the positional flexibility to play either the hot corner or the keystone position while also lengthening the lineup by providing contact skills with the occasional pop. Even better if he can switch hit as well.

Such a player will likely appear on the trade block this July in the form of Los Angeles Angels 2B/3B Luis Rengifo, though the Yankees would be wise to steer clear.

At last year's deadline, Rengifo was a hot commodity who had even been linked to the Yankees at a point, though the Angels decided to hang on to Rengifo, who promptly saw his season end due to a wrist injury shortly after the deadline had passed.

Rengifo was again often the subject of trade rumors during the offseason, and again, his potential fit with the Yankees was floated by an MLB insider. Now, Rengifo has had a down season so far in 2025, which may cause some fans to salivate, thinking the Yankees could pounce on the perfect buy-low candidate to solve their infield woes.

The Yankees should avoid a Luis Rengifo trade like the plague

Rengifo first made his presence known back in 2022, earning regular playing time for the first time in his career, and popping 17 homers in just 127 games while slashing .264/.294/.429, good for a 102 wRC+. In 2023, he improved his walk rate while keeping the rest steady, hitting 16 homers and slashing .264/.339/.444 with a 114 wRC+.

2024 saw Rengifo's contact skills move to the forefront, as he hit .300/.347/.417 with six homers and a 117 wRC+ while being limited to just 78 games. Ever the jack of all trades, the switch-hitting Rengifo primarily played second and third while also logging some reps at shortstop and in the outfield.

This season, Rengifo's walk year, has not been kind to the 28-year-old. He's slashing a dreadful .217/.249/.274 with one homer while playing 27 games at third and 24 at second. Still, given his past performance and relative youth, he must be in line for a rebound, right?

Wrong. While Rengifo's stat lines from 2022 through 2024 look intriguing, the underlying data paints a much less rosy picture of his performance. In 2022, his average exit velocity ranked in the 12th percentile, hard hit rate in the 15th percentile, and xWOBA in the 24th percentile.

Things weren't much better in 2023 when he posted a 44th percentile exit velocity, a 25th percentile hard hit rate, and a 47th percentile xWOBA. He didn't record enough at-bats to qualify among the league leaders in these metrics in 2024, but the raw numbers weren't pretty. His average exit velocity was below average at 87.0 miles per hour. Ditto for his 32.5% hard hit rate and .295 xwOBA.

So far this season, the same has held true, except now the results have caught up with the peripherals. Rengifo's 86.8 miles per hour exit velocity is in the 11th percentile, his 31.1% hard hit rate is in the 10th percentile, and his .299 xwOBA is good for just the 20th percentile.

Furthermore, just because Rengifo plays a lot of positions doesn't mean he plays any of them well. This year, he's been worth -5 defensive runs saved overall while posting -5 outs above average at third and, surprisingly, 2 outs above average at second, which has historically been the worse of the two positions for him.

Simply put, despite a three-year mirage, 2025 Rengifo is the truest version of his talent as a light-hitting, defensively challenged infielder who has struggled with injuries throughout his career. All of those are things the Yankees need to avoid like the plague as they look to add competent reinforcements.