The New York Yankees were setting the world on fire to begin
the 2017 season and part of that was due to the fact that third baseman Chase
Headley was having a great season. This is why I stress the importance of
sample size when talking about players because two months later, to quote
myself many times, Chase Headley sucks! If the Yankees plan on competing this
season, and all signs point to them wanting to compete this season, they will
need a third baseman and it seems that the team is already in search of one
according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
Headley is under contract this season and next for $13
million each before hitting free agency but his production is not matching his
contract at this point through the season. This is leaving the Yankees in a
tough spot of whether to acquire a third baseman thus allocating Headley to the
bench or to try and trade Headley and presumably eating a ton of his contract
anyway in the deal. Any trade involving Headley likely won’t fetch a
replacement third baseman which would leave the Yankees needing to make another
move involving prospects. The good news for New York is there is seemingly a
ton of third base talent available right now on the market.
Todd Frazier of the Chicago White Sox, Mike Moustakas of the
Kansas City Royals, Yangervis Solarte of the San Diego Padres, Trevor Plouffe
of the Oakland Athletics and even Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays could
be made available in trades this summer although the Blue Jays would be
unlikely to trade Donaldson to anyone within the division, especially the
Yankees.
What any of these players could fetch in return in terms of
prospects is anyone’s guess but let’s be real here. The Yankees have the
prospects to fetch any of these players and then some if they so choose so it
will be really interesting to see how they handle the whole Chase Headley
situation come next month. Or sooner…. Stay tuned.
Yangervis Solarte feels too much like 'been there, done that' for me even if he has had some success in San Diego. Considering we gave him up to get Headley, it would bug me to pay more to get him back. I thought during the off-season that Trevor Plouffe would have been a good buy low free agent signing, but the Yanks were never mentioned as a possibility. We should make sure that whomever the Yankees trade for are interviewed by Matt Holliday. If they can sync with Holliday, they're golden!
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