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The Yankees are “aggressively” searching for a right-handed bat to add to their lineup, according to a report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Nightengale adds that the club would “ideally” like that bat to be a third baseman, and goes on to suggest that the club is also interested in adding a starting pitcher.
The Yankees are off to a solid start this season, with a 30-21 record that puts them in the driver’s seat for not only the AL East but also a bye through the Wild Card round of the playoffs as things currently stand. Even so, that’s not to say the club is without flaws. Reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge anchors the club’s lineup, and with a .315/.439/.683 slash line dating all the way back to the start of the 2022 campaign it’s hard to imagine him slowing down any time soon. Standout performances from Jasson Dominguez and Anthony Volpe to this point in the year appear to be largely sustainable, and despite questions about Cody Bellinger’s slow start, Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s injury woes, Paul Goldschmidt’s elevated BABIP and the sustainability of hot starts for Trent Grisham and Ben Rice, that collective group seems likely to allow the club to continue producing at a high level at the plate.
If there’s a substantial question mark in the club’s lineup, however, it’s on the infield. Chisholm should be able to hold down the fort at second base when he eventually returns from the injured list, but Oswaldo Cabrera was hitting at a below average level at third base even before his likely season-ending ankle injury. DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, and Jorbit Vivas are currently mixing and matching around the infield with Chisholm on the shelf, but adding a right-handed bat to the mix who’s more reliable than LeMahieu (52 wRC+ in 2024) and Peraza (career 73 wRC+) would go a long way to solidifying the club’s offense.
Right-handed bats who can play the infield seem likely to be relatively few and far between on this offseason’s market, however. Perhaps Otto Lopez of the Marlins, Lenyn Sosa of the White Sox, or Amed Rosario of the Nationals could make some sense, but there aren’t a lot of obvious fits on clear sellers at the moment, especially if the Orioles aren’t interested in trading controllable pieces within the division. Plenty of teams could still plausibly fall out of contention before the trade deadline, but with two months to go until then the Yankees will need to wait a lot longer if they’re going to find an upgrade with a club like the Cardinals or Rangers that’s currently on the bubble of contention.
Fortunately, it’s a lot less difficult to find viable pitching help. The Yankees are relying on rookie Will Warren and journeyman Ryan Yarbrough in the rotation as things currently stand, so an ace pitcher won’t be necessary to upgrade the rotation. Sandy Alcantara remains one of the names getting the most buzz despite his struggles with Miami this year, but even someone like White Sox righty Adrian Houser could help raise the floor in the Yankees’ rotation and offer some depth while the club waits for arms like Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman to get healthy.
Of course, even in those cases it’s still early enough in the season that any sort of substantial trade is unlikely. The calendar hasn’t even flipped to June yet, and for the time being clubs looking for external solutions are typically best off scouring the waiver wire for potential additions to the roster given how rare blockbuster deals are this time of year. Orlando Arcia and Kevin Pillar are two right-handed hitters who have been let go by their organizations in recent days, while Kyle Gibson and Sean Newcomb are among the potential starting options who have recently been let go just within the Yankees’ own division.
