3 most valuable New York Yankees who could be traded at the deadline

The New York Yankees could be a clear trade deadline seller rather quickly, and these three players might be their most valuable assets.

With their loss Saturday to the New York Mets, the New York Yankees have lost six of their last seven games to drop to 41-40 on the season. If they lose both games of Sunday’s doubleheader, they’ll fall below .500 heading into a six-game road trip through Seattle and Houston.

The Yankees are 9.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East, with clear weaknesses that make them a buyer as the trade deadline approaches at the the end of this month. Manager Aaron Boone’s job appears to be safe. General manager Brian Cashman has the blessing of owner Hal Steinbrenner to take on salary past the luxury tax threshhold in trades, while avoiding the dreaded “s” word (seller).

But reality is trending the other way. With the All-Star break looming, the Yankees will have to make a harsh assessement of where they are. Being just above .500 at the literal halfway point on the schedule doesn’t seem likely to change much in the next week. In terms of buying or selling, there’s a case to do a little of both if there are opportunities.

Amid early-season struggles, a report surfaced that the Yankees discussed trading Aaron Judge last offseason. He’s only under team control through 2022, which invites the idea they’d trade Judge. But it’s not happening unless they get a substantial offer. And even then, it’s not happening.

As Cashman considers options and the assets he has, these three Yankees could be the most valuable players to trade.

3 Yankees who could be valuable at the trade deadline

In 32 appearances this season (entering Sunday), Green has a 2.48 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP with 40 strikeouts and just eight walks over 40 innings. He also has two saves and 10 holds. If not for a blowup outing on June 5 (four runs allowed over 0.2 inning), that ERA would be even better. But there is some good fortune baked into those numbers. He has a 3.38 FIP and a hard hit rate allowed of nearly 47 percent thus far, with ground ball and fly ball rates that are the same (31.6 percent).

Quite frankly, it’s a good thing Green isn’t walking anybody and he’s striking out a batter per inning. Anything less might send his ERA toward 4.00 rather quickly.

That said, capable bullpen arms are valuable at the trade deadline and Green is one even if his good luck corrects some. Just as importantly for any cost-conscious contender, he’s only making $2.15 million this year before hitting arbitration for the final time.