3 players the Yankees can trade before Opening Day

3) Why the Yankees need to consider trading Trey Sweeney

The Jan Brady of the Yankees farm system, Trey Sweeney doesn’t get much attention as far as becoming a future shortstop candidate goes. He’s well behind Peraza and Volpe in terms of MLB-readiness. A position change will need to take place in order for him to find regular playing time once he arrives.

Sweeney is a few years away from the majors. By the time he gets there, the Yankees will have to hope they already feel comfortable enough with someone else at shortstop. Alternatively, they should look outside of the organization for answers.

Sweeney is in a much different spot than Kiner-Falefa and Torres in terms of 2023 contributions. Where he does join them is in the category of surplus infielders. He’s another guy who could eventually join a crowded infield.

Alone in a trade, Sweeney could net the Yankees an upgrade somewhere. The more realistic scenario is that he ends up packaged in a deal for someone bigger. The Yankees should be in the market for both big whales available to acquire and the smaller clown fish.

A disadvantage of making Sweeney the player the Yankees trade is that he’d only be of interest to teams not trying to compete this year. A smaller pool of clubs, he’s a win-later prospect clubs would have interest in. Kiner-Falefa and Torres, on the other hand, would be chips to deal away to just about anyone. It’s still worth letting other general managers know the Yankees are willing to listen to offers on a prospect at a position where they have other options.