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The New York Yankees are in an interesting spot when it comes to the MLB Trade Deadline that is approaching on Tuesday. They are close enough where you could argue that they should be buyers, but they have enough holes and deficiencies to justify selling.
The Yankees have needed a left fielder for a while now. They have been mentioned with nearly every name. However, Cody Bellinger is no longer attainable as the Chicago Cubs are buyers. The Cubs also acquired Jeimer Candelario from the Washington Nationals, a left-handed third baseman who the Yankees were interested.
Cody Bellinger and Jeimer Candelario were two of the top names the Yankees have been mentioned with. With the names that are left, it is getting harder to justify being buyers. Adding someone like Tommy Pham could help, but how much of a difference will it make as long as players like Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton continue to struggle?
It has been reported that the Yankees might do a combination of buying and selling, targeting players who have multiple years of control while taking calls on the players on their roster who are on expiring contracts. That includes players like Harrison Bader and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
If you could not tell, I am going to make the argument that the Yankees should sell, and Harrison Bader would be a good player for the Yankees to offload. However, it is a player who is under team control through the 2024 season that the Yankees must move before the MLB Trade Deadline.
That player is second baseman Gleyber Torres.
Gleyber Torres has been mentioned in trade rumors before, going back to last year's trade deadline, when it was reported that the Yankees and the Miami Marlins nearly completed a deal that sent Torres to Miami in exchange for starting pitcher Pablo Lopez.
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While the Yankees were dealing with the absence of Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres has been the team's best and most consistent hitter. As mentioned before, he is under control through 2024, so he does not fit the criteria of the reports of the Yankees listening on rental players from above, but the move still would make a lot of sense.
Torres' hitting production and extra year of control makes him more valuable in a trade than Harrison Bader would be. Also, going back to the Marlins, they reportedly are still interested in Torres and are pushing hard to acquire him, according to Randy Miller of NJ.com.
The Marlins are reportedly willing to part with pitchers in the organization not named Eury Perez, according to Miller. The Yankees reportedly asked for two 25-year-old starting pitchers in Edward Cabrera and Braxton Garrett along with two prospects, which was too much for the Marlins.
Although the Yankees likely would not be able to get all of those pieces in return for Torres, they know that the Marlins covet him. It seems unlikely that New York will make a run down the stretch, and the team seems ill-equipped to make a run in October even if they do make it. This is the perfect time to get good value on a player that you know has coveted by another team for over a year.
New York also has a young prospect in Oswald Peraza who has been blocked by other players in the infield. Peraza is a natural shortstop, but it would make sense to play him at second base and finally see what he can provide as a major league player.
While Torres should not be the only move the Yankees make if they decide to sell off pieces, he would recoup the most value by far. Trading Bader and bullpen pieces like Wandy Peralta or Clay Holmes makes a lot of sense. However, if the Yankees are going to commit to selling, Torres should absolutely be moved.
