Yankees offseason trade chips

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The Yankees have several routes they could take over this offseason following a surprisingly successful season which saw the Yankees take the world champion Houston Astros to seven games in the ALCS. The Yankees could stay stagnant and keep the roster the same while allowing the young talent to continue developing and hope they’re enough to push for championship twenty eight, or, the Yankees could also opt to trade some of the current pieces to try and acquire pieces which better fit the roster and possibly take the Yankees over the hill from World Series hopefuls to World Series champions. Here are some of the pieces the Yankees could consider trading this offseason if they take that path:
Photo Credit: AP
Jacoby Ellsbury:
Since signing his contract with the Yankees, Ellsbury hasn’t been the same player as he was on the Red Sox where he finished 15th in MVP voting the year before joining New York.  Last season, Ellsbury hit .264 with just seven home runs and 39 RBIs in 112 games. Ellsbury lost playing time over the season to Aaron Hicks who hit eight more homers and 13 more RBIs in 14 less games. Aaron Hicks is just one of multiple younger options who could replace Ellsbury, as Tyler Austin and Clint Frazier are both young and intriguing prospects who could fill in for him in the outfield. This combined with the fact that Ellsbury is due to be 35 this season and make a lucrative $21 million, the Yankees will likely explore the market for the declining veteran. Whether they find a suitor or not is a different story.
Chase Headley:
Headley’s 2017 season was a surprise, as he hit .273 which was a .20 increase from his .253 mark in 2016 and his highest average since 2012. Headley also racked up 140 hits with 61 RBIs to round out a pretty productive season for the former Padre. Although Headley’s production would indicate that the Yankees would keep him in hopes he can continue to produce for a championship team in the next few seasons, the Yankees may want to capitalize on his trade value now. This season was an outlier in Headley’s recent seasons and the Yankees may want to hand the third base position over to Ronald Torreyes who had a nice season, hitting .292 with 134 and 4 RBIs in his 315 ABs. Torreyes is only 25-years-old and even if the Yankees don’t see him as a permanent option, Miguel Andujar is another interesting young option at age 22, as well as Gleyber Torres or Tyler Wade. Headley’s $13 million contract isn’t nearly as large as Ellsbury’s, but it’s still a contract the Yankees may also want to move if they want to snag some future free agents, such as Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, and avoid too high of a payroll.
Photo Credit: AP
Starlin Castro:
Similar to Headley, Castro had a strong 2017 season in which he received his fourth all-star selection and hit .300 with 63 RBIs. Unfortunately though, Castro missed significant time throughout the season with injury as he played the lowest amount of games in a season for his career with just 112. This also hurt his hits, as he managed 133, the lowest mark of his career. Despite this though, he had a great season and was a major part of the Yankees run to the ALCS. Similar to Headley though, the Yankees may want to capitalize on his trade value now and use him to acquire more solid young pieces to possibly bolster the rotation and clear up room in the infield for prospects like Tyler Wade and Gleyber Torres. Losing Castro may hurt immediately, but if it allows one of the Yankees’ young guys to blossom into a superstar in his place, it’ll be worth it in the long run. Castro is only making $10 million next season, so he’s the least likely the one on this list to be moved when this is combined with his production over the last season, but don’t be surprised if a move is made with his very high trade value.

 The Yankees may also opt to trade a few bullpen pieces that do not have a clear role in 2017, such as, Jonathan Holder to clear up room on the 40-man roster for future acquisitions.

Article by: Connor Thoms

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