The New York Yankees are a good team, but are they truly capable of winning the World Series as constructed? Their play recently and the talent that resides in the National League, especially, would suggest they most certainly are not. Injuries have hurt them, but the holes on this team are prevalent. Brian Cashman must address them by the trade deadline. The way for him to do that would be by trading prospects.
The Yankees' farm system is far from elite, but I would say it's underrated. There's a lot of talent to pick from, and given that, it makes sense that Brian Cashman would be hesitant to move on from certain guys.
With that being said, the time for Cashman to be aggressive is right now. The Yankees are in an incredibly weak American League, and they have both Aaron Judge and Max Fried in the middle of their primes. This is their window. Hopefully, Cashman takes advantage of it by making some blockbusters. These will only be possible if he's willing to trade prospects.
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4) Rafael Flores, catcher
Rafael Flores is not only the most underrated prospect in the Yankees' system, but he's one of the most underrated prospects in the game. He's only the No. 15-ranked prospect in New York's system per MLB Pipeline, but I think he's far more exciting and can fetch the Yankees an exciting return if they're willing to deal him.
To put it simply, Flores can rake. In 81 games for Double-A Somerset this season, the 24-year-old is slashing .284/.344/.502 with 15 home runs and 55 RBI. He's hit throughout his minor league career, and can easily become a good hitter at the MLB level. His downfall is that he doesn't really have an established position.
He's primarily been a catcher, but whether he's a good enough defender to stick there at the MLB level remains to be seen. Agustin Ramirez is another offensive-minded catcher the Yankees traded for Jazz Chisholm Jr. last season, and all he's done is rake with the Miami Marlins. Flores should have a decent amount of value, but his defense makes him very tradable.
3) Cam Schlittler, starting pitcher
Yankees fans might not be thrilled with this one, as Cam Schlittler just made his MLB debut hours ago, and he impressed. He reached triple digits with his fastball, flashed an impressive slider, and fanned seven in 5.1 innings of work. As impressive as that was, he has to be seen as expendable.
Cam Schlittler ended his debut day with his 7th strikeout and a standing ovation from Yankee Stadium pic.twitter.com/OQqyYVylry
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 10, 2025
This might seem crazy given the team's obvious need in the rotation and the solid first outing he just had, but remember, the Yankees are trying to win right now. Schlittler might be great in the future, but is he really a pitcher the Yankees want to trust to games for them in October? The answer to that is probably no. Well, what if he can help land a pitcher who can? What if he brings the team the third baseman it desperately needs?
I'm not saying they should trade Schlittler just because they can. In the right deal, though, Schlittler has to be made available. While intriguing, it's not as if he's a super high-end pitching prospect the Yankees would truly regret trading in the right deal.
2) Spencer Jones, outfielder
Spencer Jones went from being an untouchable to one of the most disappointing prospects in the game to a player who appears to have fully bounced back. The strikeout concerns are still very real, making his profile extremely boom or bust, but he's a tremendous athlete and has tons of power. The tools are there for him to be a superstar one day, and he's putting superstar numbers this season.
The 24-year-old has a 1.032 OPS in 58 games overall this season. The last nine of those games have come at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and he's dominated in those contests. Jones has immense potential, and the fact that he's having as great a season as he has makes him an ideal sell-high candidate.
Of the prospects who figure to be available at this year's deadline, Jones might have the highest ceiling, giving the Yankees a prime opportunity to land a bonafide star in exchange. The Yankees might not be comfortable trading a player as talented as Jones, but if it lands them a high-end contributor, they'd be foolish not to, especially with the strikeout issues in his game still very present.
1) George Lombard Jr., infielder
This is the one Yankees fans will hate. George Lombard Jr. is the team's highest-ranked prospect by virtually any outlet you can look at, and he had a strong showing in spring training. There's a legitimate chance that if he remains in the organization past the deadline, he'll be their Opening Day third baseman next season.
While the Yankees would obviously love to keep him, it would be foolish to keep him off the block completely. First of all, while Lombard excelled in High-A to start the year, he has a .644 OPS in 55 games at the Double-A level since his early-May promotion. Who knows whether he can hit at that level, let alone the MLB level? Second, as is the case with Jones and Schlittler, what if he can net the Yankees an awesome return?
No, Lombard should not be traded for a rental, nor should he be included in a trade that doesn't make the Yankees favorites to win the AL Pennant. However, if there's a controllable star available and Lombard is the price, I'd hope Brian Cashman would consider dealing him. Winning the World Series for the first time since 2009 would make it worthwhile. The odds of the Yankees actually considering a Lombard trade are extremely low if not zero, but they really shouldn't be.