The New York Yankees have had a glaring hole in the infield ever since Gleyber Torres agreed to a deal with the Detroit Tigers. The Bronx Bombers don't have any top infield prospects banging on the door to start at third base, so they'll need to bring one in through a trade or ride it out with DJ Lemahieu.
Another hole recently opened up on the Yankees' roster. Starting pitcher Luis Gil is set to miss at least a month with a lat strain and ace Gerrit Cole will miss the entire 2025 season after undergoing UCL surgery.
The Yankees need to add both an infielder and a starting pitcher if they want a real shot at contending for the American League Pennant and the World Series. But to this point, they haven't added to either spot.
Brian Cashman could swing a blockbuster trade with the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire two players that would fix these two weaknesses, but there would be a major catch.
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Yankees could trade for both Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray, but there's a catch
Firstly, the Yankees have been connected to third baseman Nolan Arenado, but two things keep catching them up from landing a deal. First, Cashman doesn't seem willing to eat much of the star's contract. Secondly, Arenado reportedly hasn't waived a no-trade clause for a deal to New York.
The Yankees could also look to reunite with starting pitcher Sonny Gray as a replacement for Cole. Gray has been excellent for the last few seasons and the righty would provide a stable starter in a rotation of question marks. But what would a blockbuster deal look like in this situation?
Obviously, the Yankees would need Arenado to waive his no trade clause. If and when that's done, we could move on to the next step.
In this deal, the Yankees would land Gray and Arenado. Here's the catch. Cashman would likely need to eat most of, if not the entirety, of both Arenado's and Gray's contracts.
This would be a huge hit to the payroll, but it would lessen the prospect capital to land the two stars. New York would likely be able to hold onto most of their top prospects, only dealing a few lower level guys away in the hypothetical deal.
It would be a salary dump for St. Louis and a huge addition of money to the books for the Bronx Bombers. But New York would fill their two biggest holes with star players.