Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees got off to an incredibly hot start to this season. As Judge goes, the Yankees go. So, when the slugger was hitting around .400 while posting an OPS near 1.300 halfway through June, it seemed like he was on his way to another MVP while leading the Yankees to an American League East title.
But Judge has cooled off tremendously. He's hitting just under .250 in June while batting 2 for his last 23 with a home run and a single going into Thursday's game with the Los Angeles Angels. The Yankees are 0-6 in that stretch.
New York needs to respond in a big way by swinging some big trades to upgrade their roster. That's all the media and fans are going to talk about because New York desperately needs some change right now. But there are some players to avoid, too. Who should the Yankees avoid trading for this season?
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1. Sandy Alcántara, Miami Marlins
Trading for Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara could make sense for nearly every team in baseball. The righty is a former Cy Young winner coming off Tommy John surgery. He's had his fair share of struggles since undergoing the surgery, but he's been closer to his old self recently. Pair that with the fact that he's on a very team-friendly contract that keeps him locked up for a few more years, and you have a very enticing trade candidate.
But with that kind of talent comes incredible trade value. Alcántara has the kind of trade value that would be too much for the Yankees to trade for. A realistic trade for the righty would likely include multiple top prospects, potentially including starting pitcher Will Warren, shortstop George Lombard Jr., or both. That kind of trade package is way too much for the Yankees to give up, especially considering how crippled their farm system already is.
While adding Alcántara would make a lot of sense for the Yankees, his value is going to be too high for a deal to come together without crippling the Bronx Bombers' future.
2. Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals
The Yankees need to add an infielder, especially with all the injuries and struggles from every infielder not named Paul Goldschmidt. The first name that comes to mind is Goldschmidt's former teammate, St. Louis Cardinals infielder Nolan Arenado. But a deal for Arenado doesn't make any sense for the Yankees.
First of all, Arenado's no-trade clause has blocked this idea and will likely continue to block this idea whether or not the Yankees and Cardinals want a deal to happen. Without Arenado waiving his no-trade clause, the deal isn't worth talking about.
Even if he does waive his no-trade clause, the Yankees should avoid adding another expensive veteran. For the Cardinals to trade the Gold Glove third baseman to New York, the Yankees would likely need to eat most of his contract, worth over $50 million. Considering the Yankees already did that with Cody Bellinger, there's almost no chance they could (or should) do the same thing with the Cardinals third baseman.
3. Erick Fedde, St. Louis Cardinals
Now we'll get into a more controversial one. Erick Fedde, another Cardinals player, makes sense as a trade piece for St. Louis. The Cardinals have a lot of talented pitchers in the farm system who are ready to take Fedde's place in the big leagues. Given the fact that Fedde is on an expiring contract, it makes plenty of sense to trade him. St. Louis has struggled recently, too, and it fights an uphill battle to make the postseason in the loaded National League.
While the Yankees need a starting pitcher, trading for Fedde seems like a disaster waiting to happen.
He's been solid this season, but his underlying numbers indicate otherwise. First of all, he's benefitting from having one of the best (if not the best) defense in baseball behind him. The Cardinals have a lot of incredible defenders who routinely steal outs and save runs for their pitchers. He ranks among the league's worst in xBA, xERA and strikeout percentage, per Baseball Savant.
Fedde's season is seemingly hanging on the side of a cliff. At any point, he could implode and be one of the worst pitchers in the game. The Yankees don't need to dump prospects for a player who could regress to the mean so aggressively.
4. Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks
The Yankees should avoid Zac Gallen at all costs. The Arizona Diamondbacks are expected to be surprise sellers at the trade deadline this season. Following Corbin Burnes' crushing elbow injury, the Diamondbacks just don't have the firepower to keep up with the loaded National League West. The NL West will likely send three teams to the postseason, barring an implosion from one of the California teams.
With that in mind, they will likely look to trade sitting ace Zac Gallen, who sits on an expiring contract. Gallen has been consistently good for the bulk of his big-league career, but he's struggled mightily this season, and it doesn't seem like the righty is going to turn it around.
Trading for Gallen would provide an upgrade for the Yankees, but the Diamondbacks likely won't cut ties with him for little prospect capital. In fact, Arizona likely values him higher than any buyer will. New York doesn't have the prospect capital available to go get a pitcher like Gallen for above market value, especially if he's going to hunt a huge contract in free agency next winter.