The New York Yankees have had a busy offseason, but the shopping shouldn’t be over just yet.
After their flurry of additions in the wake of losing Juan Soto, the Yankees have improved their outfield, first base position, starting rotation, and bullpen. But there’s one more infield question mark standing between the Bronx Bombers and an A-grade offseason.
With Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe as locks for infield starting jobs and new acquisition Paul Goldschmidt holding down first base, the Yankees would be wise to sign or trade for a third baseman/second baseman, rather than letting Oswaldo Cabrera and D.J. LeMahieu duke it out for a starting role.
Luis Rengifo of the Los Angeles Angels was a name that was frequently thrown around as a trade candidate at last year’s deadline, but hasn’t received as much coverage this winter. But heading into his final year of team control, Rengifo should still be movable for the right price.
On Tuesday, Newsweek’s Drew VonScio came up with a blockbuster trade idea that would land Rengifo in the Bronx in exchange for prospects Brock Selvidge, Jorbit Vivas, and Yoendrys Gomez.
“Defensively, Rengifo is athletic and shows off his versatility by playing both positions on the left side of infield along with second base. Seeing as second and third base are the two areas where the Yankees need an upgrade, it’s a dream come true for them,” VonScio wrote.
“This deal would go through under the presumption that the Yankees would extend Rengifo and not let him walk in free agency. As a result, the package the Angels receive is larger than usual for someone in their final year of arbitration.”
Selvidge and Gomez are pitchers who spent much of last season in Triple-A with the Yankees, while Vivas, a versatile infielder, is close to the big leagues as well. Such a package might appeal to Los Angeles if they think their competition window is just a year or two away.
Rengifo is still young at 27, and Spotrac has a high projected market value for his next contract as a result. The site estimates that Rengifo will be worth seven years, $104 million on the open market, though the Yankees could try to get him to accept less if they trade for him.
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