It’s the major question for the New York Yankees these days: trade for a third baseman, a second baseman, or neither?
Jazz Chisholm Jr. started the year at second base but transitioned to third upon his return from injury. Ostensibly, it was so the Yankees could play DJ LeMahieu at his natural position, but it also opened the door to a trade for a better bat at second base, which might be easier to find than at the hot corner.
One former major league general manager likes the idea of the Yankees thinking creatively to trade for a new second baseman with serious credentials.
On Tuesday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic named San Diego Padres first baseman Luis Arraez, a three-time batting champion and All-Star from 2022-2024, as his “favorite target” for the Yankees at the July trade deadline.
“The Yankees would like an offensive upgrade for both DJ LeMahieu and Oswald Peraza and can do so at either second or third base since Jazz Chisholm Jr. is willing to play either position,” Bowden wrote.
“(Arraez might be) the best realistic fit. Arraez is not a great defender, but he’s won a batting title each of the past three years and would create extra traffic on the bases for New York’s sluggers to drive home. I’m just not sure how the Yankees and Padres would fit as trade partners.”
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The temptation of adding Arraez based on the All-Star Games and batting titles is obvious, but he’s just not that valuable a player under the hood. And he’s having a down year, with a .274 batting average, 95 OPS+, and -0.1 bWAR in 59 games thus far.
On top of that, there’s little to no evidence Arraez can still play a serviceable major league second base, let alone third, where he last played in 2022. He racked up -17 outs above average at second between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, prompting the Padres to stop playing him there.
The Yankees would be exacerbating a logjam at first base and designated hitter that’s only about to intensify when Giancarlo Stanton gets back from his rehab assignment.
At the end of the day, Bowden’s proposal just doesn’t make a ton of sense. But the only opinion that matters is that of general manager Brian Cashman, so we’ll wait until Jul. 31 to see if there are any surprises forthcoming.
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