The Question going into the Trade Deadline for the New York Yankees

 There is a crossroads in the Bronx in between River and 161st Street right now. As New York

Yankee Manager Aaron Boone likes to put it “[the season] is right in front of them.” The second

half of the season is for the taking. As we move into the dog days of summer the Bronx Bombers

are nine games out of the division and now a game and a half out of the AL Wild Card race

following a disappointing first series in Colorado.

With that, the historic starting Tampa Bay Rays have cooled off, going 3-7 before the break

while showing signs of being mortal. Baltimore, who has been keeping pace with Tampa, didn’t

look like a Superpower when they split against the Yankees two series before the break.

The AL East is still a Spartan Training Facility with every team above .500, the Orioles holding

the first Wild Card spot, and the “struggling” Boston Red Sox tied the Yankees in the Wild Card

race. And unlike Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire, help is not on the way.

Aaron Judge’s toe is still a mystery, Nestor Cortes just started a throwing program, Jonathan

Loaisiga threw only 10 pitches on July 9th and hopefully will be back before September 1st , and

Willie Calhoun’s isn’t expected back for another two weeks or so. Frankie Montas, remember

him (!), was shut down a few days ago from his recovery program following shoulder.

Looking at the 40-man roster, every day fixes are not likely. Oswald Peraza, his chance to

deliver is now following the calf injury to Josh Donaldson. Everson Pereira only has 10 home

runs and 31 RBI’s at Double-A Somerset in 41 games—and has only played four games in

Triple-A.

If you are looking for Estevan Florial—the long-time Yankee farm hand—despite hitting 21

home runs, driving in 50 runs, stealing 18 bases, and having a slash-line of .294/.389/.985—isn’t

on the 40-man roster and it would take either a massive injury or a big-time trade for Florial to

be the corresponding move. So, what does that mean?

 

Florial is most likely going to be a trade chip for the upcoming Trade Deadline. The minor

league outfielder is currently putting together his second consecutive impressive minor league

season. In his time in the big leagues, the 25-year-old hasn’t found any success. A change of

scenery could be what is needed for things to click at the Major League Level for Florial.

Which brings up the question, who is in the market for a minor league outfielder? More

importantly, is there a team that desperately needs to build up their farm system? The answer to

both questions can be found in the San Diego Padres. Other than the New York Mets, the San Diego Padres have been the biggest disappointment this baseball season, and instead of always buying at the deadline, it might be time for San Diego to reset and recoup some of the assets that they have traded away over the past two deadlines. Trading for Soto won’t come cheap. When San Diego dealt for the Superstar outfielder last July, the Padres sent three of their top four prospects to Washington in order to make the deal happen, including their top two prospects. Would the Yankees be willing to part with both Jasson Dominguez and Austin Wells?

 

On top of those two would Anthony Volpe, Florial, and/or a top pitching prospect also have to be

included? Only A.J. Preller can answer that, but it would be enticing.

Much like the 2016 New York Yankees, this years’ Padres squad could use a retooling effort to

try to make something of their championship window with Machado, Bogaerts, and company.

Why would San Diego move on from Juan Soto? Well, he’s a Scott Boras client and will be

wanting the earth, moon, and the stars in a year and a half. There is no guarantee that Soto will

stay with the Padres. And again, it’s an opportunity to retool that farm system after going for

broke last deadline.

 

The conversation that is only being discussed seriously in the back room of the Yankee fans

mind is the possibility of Shohei Ohtani playing in pinstripes. It could’ve happened six years ago

when Ohtani was coming over from Japan, but the Bronx was passed over by Disney Land and

mediocre baseball in Anaheim. Now will the 29-year-old Superstar go to Angels management

and demand to be a part of a pennant race? The murmur around Ohtani is that many teams in the

mix would rather wait until the offseason to make a pursuit instead of trading a war chest worth

of assets to land him now. For the Yankees, can they afford to have Ohtani reach the open

market to make an offer to him? The Dodgers, Mets, Padres, and Giants will all be heavy

pursuers and can dish out just as much money as Hal Steinbrenner can. The mystique of the

Bronx might not be enough if the Yankees offer is in a similar ballpark as one of the other

bidders. To get and keep Ohtani around long-term in the Bronx, the Yankees will have to make

the godfather offer to Anaheim and present the richest contract ever awarded in North American

sports to Ohtani at the same time.

To make that a possibility you have to believe first that this Yankee team is a World Series

contender. Right now, in reality this team is not playoff bound. Right now, in the Bronx, this

ballclub has many holes. Shohei Ohtani would fill a need in the starting rotation that has been

vacated by Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, and Luis Severino. He could be the left-handed power

bat this team desperately needs—if you want to play Giancarlo Stanton in right field. And when

Aaron Judge comes back, either the reigning AL MVP would have to move to left field or you’d

have to stick Stanton in left, something the Yankees have been against for the majority of his

tenure in the Bronx.

Juan Soto could fix the left field hole. But, after giving up all that capital to get Soto, Brian

Cashman would have to dig further into the fleeting depth in the minor leagues to get another arm. Are the Yankees that close to winning the World Series?

On paper and in the minds of many analytical equations in the Yankee War Room, yes, they are. On the field, to the fan’s, belief can only get you so far if you don’t have the right roster. A roster that can get through the supposed crap shoot that the MLB Postseason is. A roster that would compete with a baseball world that has seemingly passed them by ever since that champagne-soaked cold November night in 2009.