Currently tied with the Boston Red Sox in last place in the American League East at 50-44 on the season, the New York Yankees will need to make a couple moves ahead of the Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline.
One need is the outfield with the likes of Oswaldo Cabrera (.211 average, .584 OPS) and Harrison Bader (.250 average, .715 OPS) among those struggling. Reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge being on the injured list obviously doesn’t help matters, either.
Perhaps, New York could go back to the drawing board and engage the St. Louis Cardinals about a trade ahead of the deadline. The two got together in a swap last summer that sent the aforementioned Bader to the Bronx.
According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, former Cardinals top prospect Dylan Carlson has surfaced as a target for the Yankees.
Feinsand notes that Tyler O’Neill is set to take over starting left field duties upon his return from the injured list. That makes Carlson expendable in the grand scheme of things.
It was previously reported that the struggling Cardinals were going to look to be sellers ahead of the deadline. Team President John Mozeliak suggested as much recently.
“Right now, I can tell you, we’re going to trade people, you just don’t know if it’s going to be household names or guys who are more likely to not be here next year,” St. Louis Cardinals president on trade deadline plans.
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Dylan Carlson fit for the New York Yankees and potential trade
First off, the Cardinals are willing to trade young position players for controllable pitching. Their top prospect heading into the 2021 season, Carlson more than qualifies.
The Yankees currently have pitchers such as Will Warren, Randy Vásquez and Clayton Beeter nearing their way to the Majors. Each one is in Triple-A and ranks within New York’s top-15 prospects. Meanwhile, another former top prospect in that of Luis Gil could be of interest to St. Louis.
Carlson, 24, has struggled big time this season (.237 average, .710 OPS). But he still boasts a nice amount of upside and is under team control through the 2026 season. That will be of interest to a Yankees team that’s not only looking to contend moving forward this year, but also into the future.
It was back in 2021 that Carlson hit .266 with a .780 OPS while belting 18 homers en route to finishing third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.
Either way, it appears that the Yankees are being extremely proactive leading up to the Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline. Whether that means another trade with St. Louis is in the cards remains to be seen.