Logo

Sometimes, the best sports trades occur without anyone switching teams.

Remember, for instance, when the Yankees “acquired” Jason Giambi in the middle of 2005? Actually a fourth-year Yankee, Giambi suddenly transformed (insert raised eyebrow here) from a de facto replacement level back to his old monster self, helping to pull Joe Torre’s club out of an abyss and back into the postseason.

Other such Big Apple baseball revivals include Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira with the 2015 Yankees, Carlos Beltran with the 2011 Mets (who then actually did get traded, going to the Giants for a young pitcher named Zack Wheeler) and, approximately 10 minutes after Jerry Manuel replaced Willie Randolph in the manager’s office, Carlos Delgado with the 2008 Mets.

The Yankees figure to add some reinforcements by the time Wednesday afternoon’s trade deadline arrives, yet as they work towards capturing their first American League East title since 2012 and their first World Series crown since 2009, they’ll feel far better about their chances if they “import” some of their own players living their best lives. Who could most help the Yankees by turning back the clock? Here’s my final four:

Aaron Judge

A rough weekend at Fenway Park, 1-for-19 with no walks, left Judge’s manager Aaron Boone “not worried about it at all,” he said Sunday. Overall, the 27-year-old has posted a 141 OPS+, hardly a cause for concern even if it marks his lowest in the big leagues (not counting his cup of coffee in 2016). What stands out is a bit of a power shortage. His 11 homers and seven doubles in 183 at-bats give him a .503 slugging percentage, a slight drop from last year’s .527 and a massive decrease from the .627 he put up in 2017.

Given that no less an authority than Beltran questioned whether Judge would return all the way this season from the severe oblique injury he suffered back in April, one must wonder whether the Yankees will just have to settle for this version of Judge.

Aaron JudgeAnthony J CausiAaron JudgeAnthony J Causi

Optimists, however, can point to Judge’s career-high average exit velocity of 97.8 miles per hour and, consequently, an xWOBA of .414 compared to his actual WOBA (weighted on-base average) of .384 (thanks, Baseball Savant). He might have something coming.

J.A. Happ

He pitched so well upon arriving here last year via midseason trade, it’s hard to envision this being a New York thing. More likely, it’s a juiced baseball thing, and we can’t rule out the lefty’s age (36) also contributing to his ghastly 5.23 ERA.

Unlike with Judge, the peripheral measures offer no hidden hope for Happ. But with CC Sabathia out indefinitely thanks to his ailing right knee, even a trade for a starting pitcher wouldn’t eliminate the need for Happ, who starts Tuesday night at home against the Diamondbacks, to fix himself.

Luke Voit

This might sound silly in light of the fact that a year ago, having just picked him up from the Cardinals, the Yankees optioned the first baseman to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Now that we’ve witnessed Voit’s ceiling, though, we know there’s more there than the .273/.385/.418 slash line he has compiled in July. It’s actually his worst big-league month since joining the Yankees and particularly lacking in pop.

His average exit velocity has dropped from 93 miles per hour in 2018 to 89.4. Is reality just biting? Or can Voit counter and further aid the Yankees in their savaging efforts?

Masahiro Tanaka

The Yankees’ Old Reliable, the only starting pitcher to win a postseason game last fall, has permitted four or more runs in seven of his last 10 starts, including a career-worst, three-inning, 12-run effort at Fenway in the weekend series opener. His split-fingered fastball has devolved from a modest weapon (6.1 runs above average, as per FanGraphs’ calculations) to quite the liability (8 runs below average).

He’ll face the Diamondbacks on Wednesday afternoon as the deadline counts down. It becomes far easier to envision the Yankees winning it all if Tanaka better resembles his prime self.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy