Holding a 42-19 record and solidifying their playoff position, the Yankees have been tagged as the top trade deadline buyer by a former general manager. However, if their performance doesn’t pick up, two veteran infielders might not be part of their postseason roster.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic, a former GM for the Nationals and Reds, suggested that league insiders view second baseman Gleyber Torres and first baseman Anthony Rizzo as players who need to improve to avoid being traded before the July 30 deadline.
Bowden, the former Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds GM wrote on Monday that the Yankees’ right side of the infield had underperformed so far, and that area would be the focus for upgrades via trades.
While the Yankees‘ offense excels with a league-leading 123 wRC+ and the third-most runs scored in baseball, Torres and Rizzo have underperformed. Torres holds an 81 OPS+ with a .230/.308/.324 line, four home runs, and 16 RBIs. Rizzo, with an 87 OPS+, has a .240/.301/.360 line, seven home runs, and 25 RBIs. Trading long-time lineup fixtures like Torres and Rizzo would be surprising, but the Yankees’ strong position allows them to address these weaknesses through potential upgrades.
The prospect of trading core players like the 27-year-old Torres and the 34-year-old Rizzo might be unexpected, but the Yankees’ impressive record allows them the flexibility to seek upgrades over key players enduring tough seasons.
Torres could be feeling the strain of a contract year before likely entering free agency. Meanwhile, Rizzo, earning $17 million with a 2025 club option that the Yankees may not pick up, shows signs that age may be affecting his output.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
I’VE BEEN SAYING SINCE LAST YEAR !!!.
NEED TO GET THE SHIT OUT OF YOUR EARS AND LISTEN FOR ONCE !!!.
1). GLEYBER TORRES : HASN’T BEEN DOING ANYTHING FOR THE YANKEE EMPIRE IN THE PAST 2 YRS.!!!. HE SWINGS AT JUST ABOUT EVERY PITCH THROWN TO HIM AT BAT !!!.
HE HAS NO PATIENCE AT BAT AND SWINGS FOR THE SEATS EVERYTIME HE’S UP !!!. BUT THE MANAGER “BOONE THE GOON”AND THE ‘COACHING STAFF’ DOESN’T SEE THAT TO CORRECT HIM !!!. WTF !!!.
2). FIRE 🔥 BOONE THE GOON !!! HE’S USELESS TO THE YANEES !!!.
BEING IN 1ST PLACE RITE NOW .. DOESN’T MEAN A GODDAMN THING !!!. ITS THE PLAYER’S THEMSELVES THAT ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE..NOT BOONE THE GOON !!!. HE SUCKS AS A MANAGER AND HIS STUPID DECISIONS LIKE ALWAYS , WILL FOST THE YANKEE EMPIRE ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP 🏆🏆🏆!!!.
I SAID IT 100 TIMES…HE SUCKS !!!. SHIT CAN HIS ASS !!!. HE DOESN’T SUPPORT HARDCORE YANKEE FANS EITHER !!!.
3). FIRE 🔥 CASHMAN , FIRE 🔥 CASHMAN,
FIRE 🔥 CASHMAN , FIRE 🔥 CASHMAN 👏👏👏
R
4). FIRE 🔥 RANDY , FIRE 🔥 RANDY ,
FIRE 🔥 RANDY , FIRE 🔥 RANDY 👏👏👏
5). ANTHONY RIZZO WILL COME AROUND SOON . HE’S IN A MAJOR SLUMP RITE NOW !!!. HIS GOLDEN GLOVE AT 1ST BASE MAKES UP FOR HIS TEMPORARY SLUMP. HE’LL COME AROUND AND START HITTING BOMBS OVER THE SHORT PORCH IN RIGHT FIELD !!!.
RIZZO NEEDS TO SHORTEN UP ON HIS SWING A LITTLE BIT.
6). STANTON HAS BEEN DOING A HELLUVA LOT BETTER THIS YEAR .BASE HITS , DOUBLES , HRs ..
MUCH BETTER …KEEP PRACTICING WIFFLE BALL STANTON !!!. YOU’VE MADE A BIG TURNAROUND FOR THE YANKEE EMPIRE !!!. CONGRATS 👏
BUT ,I STILL WON’T WATCH A YANKEE GAME TILL THEY “SHITCAN CASHMAN” !!!
BUT , I WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GAMES AFTER !!!.
ENOUGH. SAID !!!.
GOD BLESS AMERICA
TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP
moron.
Regarding Rizzo, how much more than normal physical deterioration due to age did he suffer due to the Yankees malpractice of letting him play for 2 months with an obvious major muscular injury that directly affects the head last year?
As other commentators on other fan sites have stated, Torres got hit in the hand with a pitch Opening Series of the year, so how much has that affected him, and only the last couple of weeks is he starting to have better ABs. Sorry, but his D and base running are always going to be less than than even consistent.
Torres must go. I hope the Yankees won’t be fooled by the fact that he’s hit some for a week plus because now is the time to trade him, if anybody is interested in him.
Last I checked about a week ago, Torres is leading MLB in ERRORS at 2B, and he had The Worst Fielding % of any 2B in MLB.
On top of that, he’s Completely Unreliable as a hitter, and he runs the bases like a deranged Little Leaguer on crack. He’s the Only Vastly Inferior Starter on this team.
Yes, Rizzo hasn’t played up to his prior capabilities, but he has a Much Longer Record of Reliability than Torres, so I’d hold onto him to potentially help Judge transition to 1st base, something I suggested recently to spare his legs (long-term), and the yanksgoyard.com just proposed the same idea about moving Judge to 1st base.
Putting Judge on 1st would open the door to an outfield of Soto, The Martian, and Verdugo, which would make for a very impressive outfield trio.
Two Things Robby.G:
1) Don’t write in ALL CAPS for an entire comment; it’s difficult to read, and it looks like you’re screaming like a lunatic in a lengthy piece. Use all caps just to stress a few words or an important sentence, since this site doesn’t allow readers to use bold or italics to stress a given point. Btw, I’m a professional writer with 40+ years experience writing for newspapers & the biggest corporations in America (such as AT&T and IBM), so I know what I’m writing about herein.
2) NO POLITICS on this site! There’s enough of that crap everywhere else in society today. If you want to rant about your love for a convicted felon & convicted sexual predator, go to a political site to do it. People come here to express their feelings about the Yankees & for a respite from all that political crap. No one on this site cares who you or I support in politics and, frankly, many people (like myself) will now skip over any comment you write, rather than be inundated with your political views & your all-caps writing style.