Breaking: The New York Yankees have confirmed three early-season trades. To produce…
The Yankees must make three choices in the offseason.
Even if the Yankees are off to a quick start, a few adjustments will keep the good vibes going.
It seems like everything that every baseball team has been secretly dreading is now happening, less than two weeks into the new baseball season. After experiencing their worst season as a team since the Reagan administration, the New York Yankees are once again among the most formidable teams in Major League Baseball this season.
It was barely seven months later that the Yankees, who had a 30-year winning season record, were thinking of sacking every member of their braintrust. While it’s easy to make fun of Yankee fans for living in the past, their team’s continuous success is truly impressive.
But given how brilliantly the season has begun, the Yankees shouldn’t be satisfied to sit back and wait for an American League championship to knock on their door. The injury that ended Jonathan Loaisiga’s season was the team’s first reminder that nothing in baseball goes according to plan. This is a team that can and should alter in a few ways to set themselves up for the rest of the current season and beyond. Let’s talk about a couple of them strategies:
In return for COL C. Diaz Elias
This may not sit well with some fan bases that are in the camp that loves Jose Trevino, Austin Wells, or both. If this Yankees lineup has one glaring weakness, it is the catching-based offense. Investing all of your money in Wells to begin the job immediately is risky.
Let us introduce Elias Diaz, who gained notoriety by emerging as one of the league’s most unassuming MVPs of the All-Star Game following his game-winning home run in Seattle at the Midsummer Classic the year prior. He has established himself as a dependable catcher who can also throw the ball efficiently behind the plate, despite a poor second half performance.
Trevino might not be a major league caliber hitter at this stage of his career if early evidence is any indication. If that turns out to be true for a lengthy period of time, the Yankees will have no choice but to acquire a catcher who can step in. Diaz would fit right in with Wells in a platoon, if not as the main starting.
Recall RHP Clayton Beeter.
After just one inning in Houston, Beeter was soon sent back to AAA, where he had started his minor league career. This was his first taste of life as a reliever in the major leagues.
At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, Beeter, who is currently 25 years old, is the 14th-ranked prospect for the Yankees as of 2024. He possesses a strong sweeper and mid-90s heat. With Nick Burdi’s issues and Loaisiga’s injury, Beeter looked prepared for the majors in spring training and should be a mainstay in the Yankee Stadium bullpen.
The Yankees are not crazy; they know that Beeter will be a part of their season, through thick and thin. Aaron Boone himself said on the Talkin’ Yanks podcast that he anticipates receiving major outs in the bullpen before the break, despite the possibility that injuries will force him into the rotation.
Oh, and when the Yankees traded Joey Gallo to the Dodgers during the 2022 trade deadline, they got Beeter back as a bonus. If Beeter can succeed and add value to the Yankees after the widely publicized struggles Gallo had in the Bronx, fans will love him forever.
Proceed with SS Anthony Volpe
The most noteworthy aspect of the Yankees’ blazing first half of the season is that their 22-year-old sophomore shortstop, Anthony Volpe, looks to have fully matured into a two-way standout.
Volpe had an on-base percentage of less than.300 at the end of 2023, but his at-bats in 2024 have been significantly different. He’s seeing more pitches, showing improved balance with every swing, and finding holes even when he doesn’t square the ball up.
Now that the Yankees know Volpe will be their long-term shortstop stalwart, it is vital that they sign him to a team-friendly contract. If the Yankees elect to keep Juan Soto, who will be paid in five years, on the roster, their compensation might end up looking like the budget for a Marvel film, since they already have three players on the roster worth $300 million and another on the way.
If Volpe becomes the player he seems more capable of becoming, any deal worth more than $20 million annually on average would be very helpful to the Yankees’ payroll. If Volpe and his legal representative are amenable to discussing an extension, Brian Cashman needs to exert maximum effort to guarantee that one happens this year.
