The New York Yankees are going to be wheeling and dealing at this year’s trade deadline.
So far, the Yankees have built a slim two-game lead atop the American League East, with the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Tampa Bay Rays nipping at their heels. While New York has looked like the most consistent team of the bunch, they’ve also got plenty of flaws to address.
Whether it’s starting pitching, a third baseman, or simply bullpen help, the Yankees will have to make a list of prospects they’re comfortable giving up to address their deadline needs.
One baseball writer sees a highly touted prospect as one of the Yankees’ best trade chips to try and improve their roster before the end of July.
On Sunday, Stephen Parello of FanSided named 23-year-old outfielder Spencer Jones, a 6-foot-6 power threat often compared to Yankees superstar Aaron Judge, as potential “trade bait” for New York this summer.
“The bottom line is that Jones, who has fallen out of most top-100 prospect lists, may be a similarly freakish physical specimen to Judge, but he’s nowhere near the polished prospect that Judge was at his age,” Parello wrote.
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“That said, as Judge annihilates baseballs, other teams will fantasize about finding their own version, giving the Yankees a pathway to capitalize and flip the talented-but-extremely-risky Jones to headline a package for an impact major league talent before the rest of the league catches on to Jones’ shortcomings.”
Parello called Jones “Judge 2.0,” but with the caveat that he’ll need to cut down on his high strikeout rate. He led all minor leaguers in Double-A or higher with exactly 200 punchouts a year ago, and in 26 games this season, he’s already racked up 41 more.
The ceiling is immense, but the floor still hasn’t risen to the level that the Yankees can guarantee he’ll be a part of the future starting lineup. That could mean a trade is indeed in play.
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