Yankees may have to part with Miguel Andujar to acquire an ace
The Yankees need a postseason ace to knock off the Red Sox in 2019. Trading Miguel Andujar may be the team’s only way to acquire one.
Brian Cashman has made zero secret about his desire to acquire a legitimate ace this offseason. Unfortunately for the Yankees, those type of pitchers don’t come available very often. Even when they do, the price to obtain them is always steep.
That’s why the organization has to accept the reality that Miguel Andujar may need to serve as the centerpiece of a deal to bring a dominant starting pitcher to the Bronx. Clearly he’s a high-ceiling young player that the Yankees would build around in a perfect world, but the team currently sports an imperfect roster.
MLB.com recently posted an article that called Andujar the Yankees “top trade candidate.” On the surface, that seems pretty far-fetched. After all, if the season started tomorrow he’d trot out onto the field as Aaron Boone’s every day third baseman. Further examination makes it pretty obvious that Andujar’s future in the Bronx is very much up in the air.
Even if you believe Andujar’s defense will improve, he’s never going to be anything more than an average infielder. His terrific bat more than makes up for his defensive weaknesses, but his lack of fielding talent likely will prevent him from becoming a transcendent superstar.
Again, he still has a real chance to be a perennial All-Star. Rookies who mash 27 home runs and 47 doubles don’t come around very often. Andujar didn’t win the Rookie of the Year, but he still has a lot of potential value to numerous teams around the league.
With all that being said, the Yankees have a clear path towards replacing him. Signing Manny Machado will be very expensive for the organization, but he’s already the player Cashman and the front office hope Andujar can become if everything goes right. The point here is that New York can part ways with Andujar and still upgrade their third base position. It would require handing Machado a massive contract and convincing him to play third, but both things are within the organization’s power.
If the Yankees are willing to make that move to fill Andujar’s void, then he immediately becomes the tool Cashman should utilize to fill the gaping hole at the top of his pitching rotation. Andujar shouldn’t be used to bring a No. 2 or No. 3 starter to the Yankees though. He should only be included in a deal for a legitimate ace.
We’re talking about the likes of Madison Bumgarner, Corey Kluber or some yet unidentified pitcher who hasn’t reached the public consciousness yet. If the Yankees can’t bring back an arm that’s obviously an upgrade over Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino, they should either keep Andujar in the fold or trade him for a superstar at another position.
Next. Can the Yankees trade for Madison Bumgarner?. dark
No one inside the Yankee organization wants to give up on Andujar, but it might be the only way to really close the gap on the Red Sox and the Astros. October baseball is all about dominant pitching. At the moment, New York doesn’t have it. Moving Andujar for an ace might be Cashman’s best option this winter.