The New York Yankees are 2-10 in their last 12 games and now see themselves four games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East. New York beat Tampa Bay 5-1 on Monday but only mustered three hits and struck out a jarring 17 times. Moves had to be made to make sure that the Yankees keep giving the Rays their run for their money for the AL East crown.
So who would be the Yankees trade deadline targets?
The first order of business is to call Detroit Tigers’ President of Baseball Operations, Scott Harris, and gauge the trade intel on superstar pitcher Tarik Skubal. The Yankees would easily have the best rotation in baseball if they were to acquire Skubal alongside Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, and Carlos Rodon.
Skubal has a 3.15 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 65.2 innings this season and is coming off back-to-back AL Cy Young awards. This is still arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball, who has a 29.5% strikeout rate paired with his minuscule 3.1 walk rate in 2026.
Now you might ask, do the Yankees need Skubal? To that, I would say, everyone needs a pitcher as talented as Skubal. New York has also seen Fried and Rodon go down, and Cole being hot and cold after coming back from Tommy John Surgery. Fried’s also dealt with his playoff woes, and Rodon is hit or miss, especially when it matters most in the postseason.
The Yankees have also seen both Will Warren and Ryan Weathers falter recently after being incredibly impressive early on, and either of them can be involved in the trade as well. If Weathers isn’t dealt, New York could definitely insert him in the bullpen, with him reaching the most innings he’s ever pitched and his velocity playing up down there.
Skubal is a rental this season, and with his superagent, Scott Boras, there’s a zero percent chance that he signs a contract extension midseason, even with the expected looming lockout on the horizon. Skubal is 29 years old, making $32M this year in arbitration, and the team taking him on would have to pay him approximately $12M if he’s traded on deadline day.
The Tigers are 40-50, five games behind in the AL Wild Card race, and would get a king’s ransom back if they were to deal Skubal instead of losing him in free agency and only getting a pick back.
Arraez is one of the most controversial players in terms of on-play discourse because people either love or hate him. Some people believe he’s the modern Tony Gwynn, and others believe that he’s a fine player who is massively overrated. This season, Arraez has been tremendous, especially defensively, as he has 10 Outs Above Average and a nine Fielding Run Value in 712 innings at second base.
Offensively, Arraez is second among qualified second basemen with a 124 Weighted Runs Created+, first in batting average at .325, and first in On Base Plus Slugging Percentage at .821
Arraez is also second in Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement with a 3.4 fWAR, second in on-base percentage at .362, ninth in runs at 45, and first in strikeout percentage at only 4%.
The Yankees’ current second baseman is Jazz Chisholm Jr., who’s in the midst of a down season during a contract year where he has a 97 wRC+, .700 OPS, .223 batting average, and 2.1 fWAR. Arraez would be a sizable upgrade over Chisholm Jr., and technically they could co-exist at second and third base, but New York could also look to move on entirely.
Arraez is 29 years old and a rental, as he signed a one-year $12M contract this offseason. So the team acquiring him on deadline day would only have to pay him about $4M for the remainder of the season. The San Francisco Giants are 38-52, 10.5 games behind in the NL Wild Card, and should be trying to sell and get some prospects back for the betterment of their organization.
Ryan Jeffers might be the most linked player to the Yankees in recent memory. Fans are talking about them; beat reporters, local media, and national media are linking the two; it makes way too much sense. Jeffers is currently rehabbing after breaking a hamate bone in his left hand, but before that, he was enjoying a career season in which he had a 165 wRC+, .949 OPS, and a 1.7 fWAR in 37 games.
Jeffers also has history with Tanner Swanson who is New York’s coaching coordinator and was previously the Minnesota Twins minor league catcher coordinator from 2017-2019.
The Yankees also have a gargantuan hole at the catching position, as they probably have the worst catcher in the sport consistently penciled into their lineup. Out of 63 catchers, Austin Wells is 59th with a 35 wRC+, 59th with a .475 OPS, 58th with a .152 batting average, and 56th with a -0.3 fWAR.
Jeffers is also 29 years old and a rental, as he’s currently on a one-year $6.7M contract. The Twins are 44-47 and only 1.5 games behind in the AL Wild Card race, but who knows if they’ll be able to keep this up or if they’ll risk losing Jeffers for nothing in the offseason.
Morillo has a 2.62 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 34.1 innings with the Arizona Diamondbacks this season. Morillo has phenomenal underlying metrics and expected stats, including a 2.39 Expected ERA and a .178 Expected Batting Average.
Among 176 qualified relievers, Morillo is 17th with a 30.5% strikeout rate, tied for 17th in strikeout-minus-walk rate at 21.3%, and 21st with a 0.9 fWAR. Morillo is also 28th with a 52.4 ground ball percentage and 21st in K/9 at 11.2. Morillo also has an impressive 33.9% Chase Rate and a 33% Whiff Rate this season.
Morillo would instantly give the Yankees the swing-and-miss STUFF that they desperately need in their bullpen alongside David Bednar, Fernando Cruz, and Brent Headrick. Those relievers are the only trustworthy guys in New York’s bullpen, which is why someone like Morillo would be a godsend for them, as he’s able to strike batters out, limit walks, and keep the ball on the ground.
Morillo is 27 years old and comes with a ton of team control as he’s a free agent in the 2031 season since he’s still in pre-arbitration. Arizona can choose to cash in here on Morillo in his career season as they’re 45-45 and 3.5 games behind in the NL Wild Card race.
The Yankees have a ton of work to do to remain one of the AL’s best teams, especially after their horrid stretch where they got swept by both the Boston Red Sox and Tigers, then lost a series to the Twins. These were supposed to be series where New York buried these AL teams behind them, didn’t give them any false hope, and made it clear they had to sell at the deadline.
Instead, they lost all three series and are in this predicament with the Rays playing phenomenal baseball and trying to bury them in the division. The Yankees have dealt with a flurry of injuries, including Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Fried, Rodon, and Cole.
Now it’s time to get their heads on straight, make some moves at the deadline, and remain in a playoff position until their big guns are back and they can get this show on the road.
Adding guys like Skubal, Jeffers, Arraez, and Morillo would be a perfect deadline for the Yankees, as they would address close to every need they currently have.
Every team isn’t perfect, no matter the payroll, so New York can also look at third base and shortstop options as well.
This is a massive trade deadline for General Manager Brian Cashman, as the likes of Judge, Cole, and Stanton aren’t getting any younger, and you have rising stars like Ben Rice and Schlittler who deserve to go far in the postseason.
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