With the trade deadline looming in the coming days, there are obviously a ton of rumors surrounding players and teams. Washington has announced that virtually everyone except Soto is for sale. This includes Scherzer and Trea Turner. Multiple reporters have reported that Scherzer would more than likely not approve a trade to NY, but that still leaves the door open for Trea Turner.
1/Even after being pulled from a game last night with COVID, Trea Turner continues to draw interest and spoke to 2 execs today who think #Nationals trade him. My 2 cents: #Yankees should really push for him. Trevor Story is a very good player who will cost less in prospects
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 28, 2021
Turn was pulled from the Ntionals game yesterday which let to speculation that he was traded, but it turns out he has COVID right now and will miss the next 10 days.
Turner is under team control through the 2022 season, facing arbitration again next year. He will not come cheap by any means, but he’s the type of player the Yankees need right now. Turner is a very consistent hitter, slashing .322/.569/.521 so far this year with a 137 wRC+. He also provides much-needed speed on the basepaths: he’s 21/24 on stolen base attempts this season. The Yankees offense has been too inconsistent this whole year to justify not adding a hitter, but Turner has the potential to make the biggest impact. Put his bat between LeMahieu and Judge and watch the results come.
What could it cost?
As I said, the price for Turner will not be cheap. He is still under team control for another season and given his accolades, he will require a haul of players. If the Yankees can complete the trade without giving up Gleyber, that would be ideal, but highly unlikely. The Yankees could attempt to build a package around their #4 prospect, SS Oswald Peraza or #11 SS Anthony Volpe, and a pitching prospect like Deivi Garcia or Luis Gil. The move potentially gives the Yankees the ability to move Gleyber back over to 2B which should coincidentally improve his defense as well, while DJ moves to 1B and Voit and Stanton can alternate the DH spot.
Even if the Nationals ask for Torres, it’s still a move worth making. Torres has looked better offensively lately, but the team cannot wait for him to figure out his inconsistencies when the team is in win-now mode. Turner brings an immediate impact bat to the lineup and although his defense has not been great, neither has Gleyber’s this year.
Conclusion
The Yankees need to look to make an impact this trade deadline. The Yankees season has been hanging by a thread for weeks now. This move addresses a need and gives them a chance to lock up one of the best offensive shortstops in baseball while continuing trying to make a run happen this year.
What are your thoughts? Should the Yankees go for Turner or turn their attention to a different SS, OF, or a pitcher? Leave a reply or tweet at me @SashaLueck and let me know!
