Breaking: Yankees Lineup Gets a Major Upgrade: Three Under-the-Radar Infielders Will Make All the Difference
With the Yankees in need of a second base or third base upgrade to round out their infield, there aren’t many viable upgrades available. Ha-Seong Kim and Alex Bregman are the best infielders available on the market, but the Yankees haven’t been heavily linked to either player thus far. Furthermore, the attractive trade pieces in the infield are limited, as the likes of Brendan Donovan would likely cost the Yankees Clarke Schmidt or Luis Gil, requiring the team to go back into a pitching market that’s not very team-friendly.
If the Yankees choose to go down the trade route for their infield, they’ll have to get creative, and these three players could be acquired without trading away the entire farm system.
Swinging an In-Division Trade For Solid Second Base Upgrade
The Baltimore Orioles have a logjam in their infield and could use players in that group to bolster other areas of their roster, and Ramon Urias could be the exact kind of player the Yankees need. Inexpensive, solid with the bat and glove, and more importantly not someone who Brian Cashman would have to sell his entire farm system for. With two years of club control left, Urias posted a 115 wRC+ last season as a part-time player who can provide some power and average.
Steamer projects a 105 wRC+ for Urias and he has a career 109 wRC+ in 429 MLB games, and at second base he’s posted a career +4 DRS and -2 OAA. He’s a solid enough defender to be a considerable upgrade over Gleyber Torres on that side of the ball, and if he hits the way he did last season with more favorable home ballpark conditions, he could end up having a 20-HR season.
