The New York Yankees made one of the first big splashes of MLB trade season on Friday, acquiring third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for two top-25 prospects. That was a solid addition, but McMahon isn't without his shortcomings. He's also not Eugenio Suárez, much to the disappointment of Yankees fans. That means GM Brian Cashman still has work to do.
New York's outfield is borderline overflowing, but the infield still needs a few tweaks. Anthony Volpe's production has plateaued to a concerning extent, opening the door for another talented middle infielder like St. Louis Cardinals All-Star Brendan Donovan. In this case, New York has some extra motivation to get a deal done.
According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Yankees aren't the only team interested in the St. Louis second baseman. She lists the Los Angeles Dodgers as another club with "known interest," handing the Yankees a grade-A excuse to push all their chips in for the 28-year-old.
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Yankees need to trade for Brendan Donovan so the Dodgers don't
Is Donovan the solution to what ails New York? Probably not, at least not completely. The Yankees could use another solid infielder, but pitching depth is a more pressing concern. And yet, the most pressing concern might just be keeping the Dodgers at bay. That goes for the league at large, but especially for the Yankees, who are probably hoping for a chance at revenge in the upcoming World Series.
New York has a lot of work to do before this team is back on the World Series stage, but the American League is wide open and the Yankees have an established core. There's a world in which Aaron Judge and Max Fried win MVP and Cy Young, respectively. So now is the time to operate aggressively with a deep October run in mind.
Donovan has a .788 OPS and nine home runs across 376 at-bats this season. He's not exactly an elite defender and his lack of power won't woo the Yankees faithful, but he's a dependable on-base threat with an exceptionally low strikeout rate. He can toggle between second or third base and even play some outfield. The Yankees would find ways to extract value.
But yeah, the most valuable thing is keeping another All-Star out of the Dodgers' absurdly stacked lineup.
Brendan Donovan might push Dodgers over the top
Los Angeles pried Tommy Edman from the Cardinals last summer and he came through in a big way in October. This season has been a bit more unstable for Edman, however, and with Max Muncy still working his way back from an ugly lower-leg injury, there is room for improvement in the infield.
Mookie Betts has reached a career low in production, even getting benched recently. Los Angeles has a solid utilityman in Kiké Hernandez, but beyond him and fellow vet Miguel Rojas, the organizational depth chart gets thin.
It's not clear where exactly Donovan would slot in for either of these teams. Is New York moving Jazz Chisholm to shortstop? Are the Dodgers punting on Hyeseong Kim? But he would slot in, probably easier in L.A. than in New York. But that is not reason enough for the Yankees to balk, because we know the spend-happy Dodgers will not.
Donovan is arbitration-eligible through 2027, so he offers multiple years of team control at a bargain price. That is all the more reason for the Yankees to ignore any questions of positional fit and just figure it out, if only to prevent the Dodgers from pulling another trade deadline heist in St. Louis.