The New York Yankees jumped out to a blazing start to the 2023-2024 season, blitzing past the rest of the American League East and looking like they might wrap up the division by the All-Star Break. However, that did not happen.
The team fell back down to earth over the past month, and several glaring holes in the roster have emerged. The season can be salvaged, but general manager Brian Cashman must roll up his sleeves and get to work.
He can start by looking into acquiring the following three players at this year’s MLB trade deadline.
Luis Rengifo would lengthen the lineup
The Yankees need to add players who are talented and getting on base to their lineup at the MLB trade deadline. Outside of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, nobody is producing consistently and players aren’t getting on base for the big guns to drive them in.
Adding Rengifo at the deadline will go a long way toward addressing this issue and making things more difficult for opposing pitchers. This is a name that hasn’t been thrown around a lot regarding the Yankees, but the versatile infielder would be a perfect fit in the Bronx.
Rengifo primarily plays second base, but he’s capable of playing all over the diamond. This would be incredibly beneficial for a Yankees team that is filled with question marks throughout their infield.
Right now, Anthony Volpe is the only sure thing the Yankees have defensively, and he has been struggling at the plate.
Ben Rice is off to a strong start in the field and at the dish, but the rookie has played in fewer than 50 games in The Show. Unfortunately, with that small of a sample size, an accurate evaluation of his long-term impact cannot be made quite yet.
Even if Rice turns out to be legit, he only addresses one position. Due to his size, he’s limited to playing first base or the outfield.
Rengifo, on the other hand, could play second base, third base, and first base. He could probably even play a passable shortstop, although it's unlikely he'd be a plus defender at that position. Think of DJ LeMahieu’s role when the former Colorado Rockies infielder first joined the Yankees. Rengifo might never hit quite as well as LeMahieu did during that magical 2019 season. If he's able to even provide 75% to 85% of the production that LeMachine did in 2019, though, it will be a major boon for the Bombers’ suddenly struggling offense.
DJ was incredibly important to what the team did that year and a case can be made that the former Colorado star’s decline has hurt the Yankees more than any other single development. More than the unexpected regression of Gleyber Torres, more than numerous ill-advised and failed acquisitions such as Joey Gallo and Josh Donaldson. Even more than the shockingly rapid decline of slugger Giancarlo Stanton. Rengifo's presence would go a long way toward addressing the gap LeMahieu's struggles have left in the team's lineup.
Tyler Anderson could help preserve Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil
Anderson is likely to be available, and Brian Cashman should absolutely have already called his counterpart in the Angels front office, Perry Minasian. The current Angels starter has a strong track record as a reliable starter who will eat innings and keep games within reach. He’s not necessarily the kind of superstar that you want on the rubber in game seven of the World Series, but he doesn't have to be that guy.
The Yankees already have high-end starting pitching with established superstar Gerrit Cole and rising young star Luis Gil.
However, Gil is on an innings limit already and he may already be starting to show signs of fatigue in his pitching arm. The team must prepare for the possibility that they’ll need to rest Gil for an extended period of time to preserve his arm for when they really need it.
Cole and Gil can absolutely dominate opposing lineups in a playoff series. The top priority must be prioritizing the health of the team’s two superstar pitchers. Adding an innings eater such as Anderson would go a long way toward achieving that goal.
Anderson is a guy who will stay healthy and go deep into games. Not only will he help preserve the health of Cole and Gil, but he’ll also help Aaron Boone avoid depleting his bullpen. A guy who can hold his own while keeping the rest of the staff fresh is invaluable.
Anderson probably won’t come cheap, but he shouldn’t be prohibitively expensive, either. The Yankees will feel some pain swinging a deal to acquire the Angels’ starter, but adding Anderson shouldn’t require the team to give up star prospects such as Spencer Jones, Jasson Dominguez, or Roderick Arias.
Jack Flaherty has upside but there is also risk
Flaherty is the exact opposite of Anderson as he’s already posted a top-five Cy Young finish. However, he also has a lengthy injury history including a concerning back issue and he’s anything but a sure thing to take the mound every day.
In addition to his checkered injury history, Flaherty would likely cost more for the Yankees to acquire given his upside. At best, he could end up being the staple of the Yankees’ rotation for the next decade.
However, the Bombers have gotten burned by injury-prone players too many times in the past for this deal to seem likely. Flaherty is an under-the-radar target for New York for this reason, but if they take a swing and Flaherty is able to avoid injury trouble, he could be a valuable contributor to the rotation for a long time to come.
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