MLB rumors: Yankees failed trade, Braves dodge trade bullet, Red Sox hyping moves

MLB rumors: Yankees failed trade on Chas McCormick

On Friday, Ken Rosenthal dropped an article looking at the situation with the New York Mets. Within it, he said the Yankees had, “previous,” interest in Chas McCormick (subscription required) of the Houston Astros. The talks stalled.

McCormick, in his third big league season, is slashing .252/.335/.444 for the Stros this year and has doubled his stolen base total from last season already this season. His OPS is 14 percent higher than the league average.

McCormick, an outfielder, would have been a good add for New York considering their injury-laden unit and lack of offensive pop from those in the outfield at various stages this offseason.

Giancarlo Stanton, Harrison Bader, and presently Aaron Judge have all seen time on the injured list. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa transitioning to the outfield has been honorable, but it’s not his natural spot. Before he was cut, Aaron Hicks was providing next to nothing at the plate.

McCormick has accumulated a positive offensive and defensive WAR so far this season (1.0 and 0.2, respectively), though his arm strength is low, even lower than IKF’s.

In his reporting, Rosenthal points out that McCormick’s power would be well-suited for the dimensions of Yankee Field which features a short right-field porch.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner have been tight-lipped on moves and not hyped up the probability that changes will come. But perhaps it would be worth picking the phone back up for this one.