Milwaukee Brewers – Eric Thames, First Base/Designated Hitter
If there’s a player that fits the Yankees profile, it’s going to be Eric Thames. He truly would fit perfectly with the Bronx Bombers as well for a couple reasons. First, he plays first base and that’s one of the weakest parts of the Yankees team at the moment as we’ve discussed. Secondary, he’s a power lefty and his one true calling card is hitting home runs. Since he made his return to the majors last season, he’s hit 42 bombs. The big factor here is the Brewers could dangle him in trade talks as they’ve had a different player emerge that must get consistent playing time in Jesus Aguilar.
Thames did sign a three year extension but Aguilar has made him expendable and might force the Brewers hand. He’s flat out been a much better hitter than Thames this year and really the only snag could potentially be how the Yankees could make a deal work. As a fun side note, I’m writing this on Sunday, July 8. Both Thames and Aguilar just hit home runs, and it was the second of the day for Aguilar. Milwaukee’s biggest need is starting pitching and it’s not like New York has a whole lot to spare. If they did, they would be one of the more complete teams in the league. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both bat right handed and plopping this type of lefty in-between them would be a massive boost for the whole lineup. Milwaukee has too many position players and not enough pitching. A player like Thames would be interesting to a lot of teams, especially the Bombers.