The New York Yankees should already have these 5 players on the trade block.
Is this the year the New York Yankees break their World Series drought? Most organizations wouldn’t be so thirsty for a championship. The Yankees aren’t like most organizations.
The Yankees had an offseason primarily focused on retaining star players. They brought back Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo. To bolster the rotation, the team went out and signed Carlos Rodon to a huge deal.
The Yankees are in great shape but will need to look at obvious and creative ideas to make themselves better. For better or worse, these five players should already be on the trade block.
1) Why Yankees infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa is already on the trade block
It turns out that Isiah Kiner-Falefa is not the future shortstop of the Yankees nor should he be the present one either. A superb defender with a subpar bat, the team’s obsession with him became a reality when they acquired him from the Minnesota Twins last offseason.
In his first year with the Yankees, Kiner-Falefa slashed .261/.314/.327. His .642 OPS would’ve been admirable for a shortstop in the 1960s. In today’s world, most fans would want him batting ninth if at all.
Kiner-Falefa doesn’t bring much value to the Yankees beyond his speed and shortstop defense. He’ll be competing against Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza for starts at shortstop this season. Most fans would agree they’re ready to see what either of the kids can do. In fact, poll just about anyone in Times Square with a Yankees opinion, most would be ready to move on from Kiner-Falefa completely and fix the problem later on if Volpe or Peraza isn’t ready.
Because shortstop is a premium position, there could be takers for Kiner-Falefa. The team has more than enough options on the roster already. Packaging him in a deal for an upgrade elsewhere should be on Brian Cashman’s chore list.