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·2 min read

The Yankees should pursue Starling Marte

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As the trade deadline rapidly approaches, everyone has an opinion on what the Yankees should do. Based on what we’ve seen so far, there’s a legitimate chance the Bombers could buy or sell come July 30. I know there’s a good portion of fans who want a 2016-type sell, but I don’t see that happening because

A. There aren’t many guys to sell unless you want to trade controllable assets, which doesn’t make sense to me

B. I can’t see Brian Cashman admitting defeat in July

Throw in the fact that the Yankees are actually playing decent baseball as of late, and I see this team as buyers. They could add a starting pitcher, or a first baseman with Luke Voit injured again. But this team’s real need is the outfield. I think the Marlins’ Starling Marte is a perfect fit for this team. Let’s dive into why.

He plays center field

Starting with the low-hanging fruit here. The Yankees are currently rank 30th in MLB for center field OPS with .611. As in dead last. The sad part is, that includes Aaron Judge’s 27 PA as a CF, so it should actually be even lower than that. Moral of the story, this team needs a center fielder.

Marte is a natural defensive center fielder who would slide right into the everyday role. He’s not necessarily elite defensively (-2 DRS in 2020, 3 DRS this season), but he absolutely can play the position.

He’s a rental

Just because I want the Yankees to buy, doesn’t mean I think they should trade a ton of prospect capital with 2021 in mind. Joey Gallo has been a popular name on Yankees Twitter, and as great as he is, I’m apprehensive of what he’ll cost. I’m not sold on trading an Oswald Peraza, Luis Medina, etc. for Gallo and his 1.5 years of control remaining when the playoffs are far from a guarantee this season. If we’re trading those guys, it better be for controllable assets such as Ketel Marte (no relation to the subject of this article).

Marte is a free agent at season’s end. He should be significantly cheaper than Gallo in terms of trade cost. To me, that makes him a much more realistic option.

His bat provides an instant boost

Marte is hitting .294 with 7 HR, a .393 OBP, .450 SLG & .843 OPS. Fantastic numbers. He hits for average, gets on base a ton, and has some pop. The big knock on him from some Yankee fans is that he’s another righty bat. Well, he’s a reverse splits guy. He hits right-handed pitching BETTER than he hits left-handed pitching.

If he were to be acquired, Marte instantly jumps to the top of the Yankee batting order, maybe in the 3-hole between Judge and Stanton. He may not be the sexiest name, but make no mistake. Marte has a difference-making bat.

He’s got speed

Greg Allen has showed us Yankee fans how awesome it is to finally have some speed on the bases.

While I want Allen sticking with the MLB club regardless of who we do or don’t acquire, imagine pairing him in the outfield with another speedster? Marte has stolen 19 bases in 22 attempts. Not only is he a great hitter, but he can wreak havoc on the bases. A huge knock on the Yankees is that they’re too station-to-station on the basepaths, and Marte would help solve that problem.

What do you think about Starling Marte as a Yankee? Comment below or tweet me @ncostanzo24