The Yankees turned their sights to the infield on Saturday night, continuing their aggressive trade deadline by adding Amed Rosario. The Washington Nationals infielder comes to New York in exchange for prospects Clayton Beeter and outfielder Browm Martinez, per Jack Curry of YES.
Yankees fans may remember Rosario for hitting a seventh-inning walk-off at Yankee Stadium while he was a member of the Mets in 2020. Since then, he's played for the Guardians, Dodgers, Rays, Reds and Nationals.
This year, he's batting .270/.310/.426 with an OPS+ of 109. His OPS against lefties is .816, which feels like the primary to bring him in. New York needed another right-handed bat and they got one. Of course, there's also his positional versatility. This year alone he's played third, second and shortstop.
Whether Rosario is insurance for Anthony Volpe or a potential replacement at second or third, there's one player who is very clearly not part of the plan after this trade: Oswald Peraza.
The Amed Rosario trade signals the end for Oswald Peraza
Peraza wasn't included in the trade, but he might as well have been. He's effectively been replaced already. Rosario is an upgrade on Peraza as a bat, though he's a downgrade defensively (and that's not saying much). His ability to hit lefties should make up for that. It will be no surprise if Peraza is soon DFA'd if he's not traded first.
It'll be a disappointing end to a disappointing run by a prospect who was once considered one of the best in the Yankees farm. He just hasn't lived up to expectations or even locked in his place on the roster. This year, he's slashing .243/.322/.308 with an OPS+ of 78. Now that he's out of minor league options, there are no other options for New York.
The Yankees still have an obvious need for pitching. Ideally, they'd use Peraza to help acquire an arm. As a former top prospect, his potential could give him some value, but teams will also know he's likely to be DFA'd before long.