Yankees Trade Proposal Lands Gold Glover to Replace Oswaldo Cabrera

The last thing the New York Yankees want to do is add a third or second baseman at the deadline who doesn’t swing the bat at the level they need them to. 

For a Yankees team that is afforded the flexibility to add either a second or third baseman because Jazz Chisholm Jr. has the ability to play either position, the Yankees can get creative. 

That should help them find somebody they want, but it might not be as easy as it sounds.

There aren’t many elite hitting third or second basemen in the league, and with the limited number there are, they likely won’t be available. 

A Potential Infielder Replacement

One player the Yankees have been slightly linked to over the past few months is Ke’Bryan Hayes of the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

There’s no denying that Hayes is one of the better infielders in Major League Baseball, but his offensive production has never been much of anything. 

Despite the questionable offensive production, Drew VonScio of Newsweek proposed a trade idea that would send him to New York, noting that the Yankees have a major hole at the hot corner, which is tough to argue at this point. 

“The New York Yankees are back to the drawing board with their baseman after Oswaldo Cabrera’s recent injury. Cabrera suffered an ankle injury on Monday, and the infielder quickly underwent surgery to repair it. However, the Yankees have a major gap at the hot corner with very little options to improve the team internally.

“One option to consider from the outside is Ke’Bryan Hayes from the Pittsburgh Pirates,” he wrote.

Is Hayes the perfect option for the New York Yankees? Probably not. However, the Yankees shouldn’t expect to find much better at this stage unless they want somebody who can come in and swing the bat and not be as elite of a defender. 

There’s value in adding defenders like Hayes, a Gold Glove Award winner, but it’s also tough to ignore that he currently has a 67 OPS+ and had a 60 OPS+ last season. 

In 42 games this year, he’s hitting just .253 with one home run, three doubles, and two triples. 

Michael Kay Advocates for the Deal

During the offseason, New York Yankees announcer Michael Kay linked the team to Hayes. He added that he’s a defensive magician at third base, and while his hitting isn’t what it should be, the Yankees should still make a call on him. 

“Ke’Bryan Hayes is a defensive magician at third base,” said Kay. “His hitting is not what it should be, but he’s obviously not happy in Pittsburgh. I talked to Charlie when the Yankees were in Pittsburgh a couple of years ago, and he was like scratching his head about some of the things they do in Pittsburgh with the hitters. Whatever the case may be…if I’m the Yankees, I’m calling the Pirates and go, ‘What do you want?’”

Kay brings up some valid points about what they do in Pittsburgh, and it isn’t out of the question to say that Hayes can eventually turn it around. 

However, at 28 years old, after being selected in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of high school, it’s tough to see a scenario where he becomes an above-average hitter.

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