Yankees nearly uncovered America's hero Jake Bauers before Brewers, fueled his rise with trade

Unafraid of the moment, unassuming power ... man, why can't Brian Cashman and the Yankees find players like Jake Bauers? Well ... they did. Back in 2023. And he mashed for a little bit, too - specifically, he mashed at Dodger Stadium in the very game where Aaron Judge's toe and an exposed concrete bullpen wall conspired to derail a season that was actually getting kind of fun.

Bauers, flanked by the likes of Willie Calhoun and Billy McKinney, was a key member of the Yankees' Island of Misfit Toys that harkened back to the Next Man Up 2019 Yankees for a moment. They were 48-38 on July 4! Judge had bashed his toe back on June 3, though - Bauers homered twice that day - and while the side-quest Yankees hung on for a month, they eventually lost nine of 11 games, ending with that infamous Carlos Rodón lash-out in Anaheim, followed by a nine-game losing streak in August that dropped them to 60-65.

Before all of that, though, Bauers was a career journeyman who clicked into something spectacular at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and was actually a pretty rad bomber, even if the final rate stats in a Yankee uniform don't tell that tale (-0.9 bWAR, 12 homers and a .202 average and .693 OPS in 272 plate appearances). His barrel percentage and hard-hit rate, while they didn't come with the requisite number of appearances to qualify, would've been close to top-tier.

Let's be clear: Bauers wasn't awesome. The Yankees also didn't teach him some kind of magic trick. The heartwarming story of his near-retirement was still ahead of him, as he hit .199 with a .662 OPS for the 2024 Brewers (though he hit a dramatic home run off the Mets in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, undone by Devin Williams). But his patience and power profile was targeted by the Yankees for good reason after years of moribund play with Cleveland, Tampa Bay and Seattle. Huh. Those first two teams typically know a little something about undervalued traits, too.

He started the 2023 season by hitting .359 with a 1.382 OPS, crushing 11 homers in 24 games with the RailRiders, giving Clint Frazier a run for his money as the king of that town. Hell, there's a reason why his MiLB.com banner pic is still him crouched at first, poised for a hotshot, in an SWB uniform. Bauers earned his promotion to the Yankees and did his job on occasion, but didn't distinguish himself as a bonafide future regular, let alone perhaps the most important slugger in Brewers history.

And so, when that intriguing-turned-forgettable-turned-tragic-turned-hopeful-turned-tragic-again (after Jasson Domínguez's elbow injury) season ended, the Yankees saw fit to flip Bauers to the Brewers. And that's where the story really begins.

Yankees-Brewers Jake Bauers trade still has ripple effects in New York's system, too

The Yankees traded Bauers somewhat silently that winter in exchange for outfielders Brian Sanchez and Jace Avina. Avina remains in the upper minors with the Yankees and mashed 21 homers with an .817 OPS last season at the age of 23. He's a candidate for Scranton's outfield himself next season.

Sanchez? He was used as a secondary piece in the David Bednar trade, and survived in the Pirates' system for a moment before heading to the Marlins this past offseason. He played the 2026 season in Beloit. Wisconsin.

And Bauers, though his tale of continuing in the game to provide health insurance for his unborn daughter is both emotional and representative of a true American failing, hit a new apex this season, both narratively and in his performance. His two ridiculously patient at-bats have defined the NLCS, and his lead-flipping home run off Blake Snell could turn into a poster for generations of Milwaukee fans if the Brew Crew can finish this off and parade through the AL for a title. He'll now hit free agency at the exact right time, posting a 140 OPS+ while capturing the hearts and minds of everyone with Dodger hatred in their blood.

The Yankees didn't start the ball rolling, per se, but they certainly played a role in this story. And Avina's continued emergence means they'll have a souvenir of this intriguing deal next winter and beyond, too.

No, the Yankees shouldn't have held onto Bauers. They got what they needed, and he's right where he needs to be.

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