The New York Yankees are going all-in on offense at the trade deadline, having dealt for both outfielder Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers and first baseman Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs.
These are two massive moves that turn a middling Yankees lineup into a true monster. New York wanted more left-handed bats in the lineup and, well, they got it. But this doesn't automatically make the Yankees a World Series lock – or even a postseason lock – by any means, especially as they are still 8.5 games out of the AL East race and 3.5 games out of the Wild Card, behind the Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland Athletics, and surprising Seattle Mariners.
Here are six questions that remain as the dust settles from these moves:
What will the Yankees lineup look like now?
Simply put, pretty scary:
Thoughts on this potential revamped #Yankees lineup? pic.twitter.com/WyhPl4was3
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 29, 2021
That's about as feared a lineup as you'll see in baseball right now. Aside from his prodigious power, Joey Gallo has a tremendous eye at the plate, evidenced by his 19.1% walk rate this season, which is the highest of his career, and an eye-popping .223/.379/.490 slash line. But for New York's purposes, they acquired him for those 25 home runs, which the Yankees can certainly expect more of in the lefty-friendly confines of their stadium.
As for Anthony Rizzo, he is having yet another solid season, hitting .248/.346/.446 with 14 home runs, 16 doubles, 40 RBIs, and a 115 wRC+. These aren't spectacular numbers, but he'll be a nice complement to the rest of the strikeout-heavy lineup.
The bottom of the Yankees order leaves something to be desired, but they will obviously live with it, especially if they can get any sort of expected historical production out of Gleyber Torres or Gio Urshela. Torres has turned it on as of late, hitting .273/.355/.470 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in July. Urshela, despite a career-high 24.7% strikeout percentage, is still hitting .273/.314/.438 this season.
What about all those strikeouts?
You're going to see a lot of them! Assuming Judge, Gallo and Stanton hit back-t0-back-to-back, fans are just going to have to take the good with the bad. There are likely going to be plenty of home runs – so, so many home runs – but there will likely be just as many maddening stretches full of Ks. Stanton (29.4%), Judge (25.1%) and Gallo (32.2%) all have significant strikeout percentages, but all are capable of carrying a team for stretches on their own. Assuming all three don't fall into deep, strikeout-heavy slumps at the same time, the Yankees will likely have something very good here.
Do the Yankees have enough pitching?
Even with Gerrit Cole anchoring the rotation with a 3.11 ERA (and 140 ERA+), it's hard to see Jordan Montgomery, Jameson Taillon, and Domingo German being enough even with a solid bullpen. The old adage that good pitching beats good hitting is usually amplified in the playoffs, but the Yankees might be content to work against the grain there. They'll just have to actually make the postseason first.
What about Luke Voit?
Voit, 30, is currently on the IL for the third time this year, but he has been discussed in potential trade talks, as he is quickly running out of positions to play on this team. Currently making $4.7 million this season and not a free agent until 2025, one would think there are plenty of teams that would be interested in Voit's services. When healthy, he has established himself as one of the best power hitters in the game; he led the Majors with 22 home runs in the shortened 2020 season.
Are the Yankees really staying under the competitive balance tax?
Not that fans really care about this one, but the Yankees certainly do. As much as the team wants to be in on the biggest names out there – and typically are – there has been somewhat of a philosophy shift in recent years that New York will do what it can to stay as close to the luxury tax threshold as possible. To their credit, they've been very good at getting other teams to pay for their players' contracts, but that won't last forever – probably. Both the Rangers and Cubs are currently absorbing the contracts of Joey Gallo and Rizzo, respectively.
Does this move put the Yankees over the top?
The Yankees have very clearly put all of their eggs in the offensive basket, hoping they can out-slug their way to a playoff appearance. Even with these offensive acquisitions, it's hard to see the Yankees built for a deep postseason run. If they were to somehow acquire another starter, though, that might be a different story.
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