Assessing the Trade Value of the Yankees System

One Month from the Deadline...

by Cary Greene

June 27, 2025

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After MLB.Com ranked each MLB team’s Minor League systems this past March I began to wonder if the Yankees, who currently have the 24th rated farm system, have enough value to make necessary trades to improve key areas of their roster or if the team might be better off not flushing what’s left of its depleted farm system down the drain at this year’s MLB Trade Deadline. While it's true that Yankees GM Brian Cashman has been consistently depleting the farm system over the past several years as he has repeatedly made Deadline deals designed to acquire players to fortify his ill-conceived rosters.

While it's certainly fair to also blame Hal Steinbrenner’s refusal to spend over certain CBT thresholds in the past few years as steep luxury tax penalties have deterred him from going all in, Cashman hasn’t exactly been thrifty with the budgets he’s allotted. This season, the Yankees face yet another similar situation as the team needs help at third base and in both the starting rotation and out in the bullpen.

There is little doubt that the Yankees are presently a flawed team that could use significant roster upgrades and as the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline looms, only a little more than a month away, many Yankees fans once again are left in anticipation of what they surely hope will be a very active Deadline for their team.

Considering that MLB implemented an expanded playoffs format back in 2022, the new Deadline dynamics are such that more teams than ever before still fancy themselves as Wild Card contenders and this has created a landscape where there are far more buyers than there are sellers. Perhaps a new dynamic is even emerging, one that is causing buying teams to have to sell MLB level talent in order to get the help their GM’s are after.

This season there are precious few teams that will likely be sellers, as presently there are only two American League teams (A’s and White Sox) and four National League Teams (Nationals; Pirates; Marlins and Rockies) that can reasonably be seen as potential sellers. That means there are 24 teams that area probably all looking to improve their rosters. No doubt, the selling teams will have the advantage of extracting maximum value for the players they market as available. This will cause many of the buying teams to forgo the scrum of overpaying and instead, they may very well look to make more even deals with other teams who view themselves likewise, as contenders.

Adding to this menagerie of Deadline drama are a couple of teams dwelling in the purgatory area between being a buyer or a seller (the Braves and the Orioles) and a few of the more nefariously minded minded GM’s like Alex Anthopoulos of the Braves may soon be coming to the conclusion that the dastardly dangling of a potential trade chip like Chris Sale could net a dynamic Deadline return that might help him resharpen his roster.

Given that there has been an influx of mostly overpaying buyers at every Deadline since ‘22, the year that MLB expanded its playoffs format and considering Steinbrenner’s annual opposition to spending above the LTT, its reasonable to expect Cashman to attempt to do a little selling while at the same time attempting to frugally acquire some needed help, being careful as to not blow the budget that Steinbrenneromics has set forth.

Is there a short list of players that Cashman could target and if so, which players are on the list? If you’re dreaming of a contending team like the Brewers dealing away a starter like Freddy Peralta to the Yankees because they did something similar before, when they traded Corbin Burnes to the Orioles prior to the 2024 season, I won’t rain on your parade in this article, but I will wish you many more pleasant dreams.

Maybe you think the Diamondbacks, a historically obstinate team when it comes to trading star players, will send Eugenio Suarez to the Bronx for a mid-tier prospect, I’ll listen to that too while twiddling my thumbs. I will however state that Suarez is such a horrific fielder that I simply don’t see Cashman wanting him.

If you think the Yankees can land Paul Skenes from the Pirates at this year’s Deadline, please know that that isn't happening.

Today’s piece is as grounded in reality as I could possibly make it and before you read my conclusions, I’m going to issue Yankees fans a grim warning ahead of this year’s Trade Deadline: Don’t expect much to happen on the Yankees front. There are simply too many buying teams who all have far better, deeper and more desirable farm systems from which to trade from than the Yankees do. This won’t stop me today from exploring what we might expect to happen at this year’s MLB Trade Deadline, so let’s dive in!

I’ve used BaseballTradeValues.com to obtain the Median Trade Values of players the Yankees would likely want to target in various trade scenarios and I’ll do that throughout this article, mainly because BTV is a perfectly fine place to start a trade related conversation. In fact, BTV was recently extremely accurate in measuring the recent Devers to the Giants blockbuster. It was a pretty fair trade according to BTV, even if most perceive the Red Sox should have hung onto Devers as insurance against Bregman opting out during the coming offseason.

I’ll also purposefully focus more on standardized evaluation tools like OPS+ and ERA+ and less on StatCast peripherals and gut related hunches - mainly because it makes for easier to quantify player comparison fodder that can be used to quickly eyeball possible trades and fire off potential Yankees proposals.

Another important thing to note is that based on FanGraphs Future Values stat, Jasson Dominguez (55 FV) and Will Warren (50 FV) are easily the two most desirable, ready now players in the Yankees fold so as a Yankees fan, I’m hoping neither get traded at this year’s Deadline. Warren is viewed as a productive MLB Starter and Dominguez even has a chance to become a star player. Beyond Warren and Dominguez, the Yankees don’t have any can’t miss talent in the system. Even George Lombard is rated as a 45, which means he’s got a 50-50 chance to become a Big Leaguer and a much smaller chance to be an everyday player. Take this with a grain of salt, but I wanted to point out that there is a strong chance that opposing GM’s aren’t all that high on the Yankees tranche of prospects.

Jumping to the forefront of the “Lets Pilfer the Selling Teams” a short list of selling teams that match up well with the Yankees, the White Sox are once again the worst team in the American League and they happen to have a few pieces that might be viewed by the Yankees as being potentially helpful. One of their biggest strengths is found in their plethora of promising, controllable starting pitchers and they also have an old friend who would provide an upgrade to the Yankees outfield corps.

Though many media outlets are reporting that the Yankees have some interest in center fielder Luis Robert Jr, I’d personally rather see the Yankees add a young, promising starter and perhaps look to reunite with Mike Tauchman if they do want to expand a trade with Chicago by targeting a White Sox position player. Here’s a list of potential White Sox trade booty:

●      RHRP Steven Wilson $2.6 MTV, Low Availability, 233 ERA+

●      RHSP Adrian Houser $3.6 MTV, Medium Availability, 184 ERA+

●      RHSP Mike Vasil $1.8 MTV, Low Availability, 148 ERA+

●      RHSP Shane Smith $9.3 MTV, Low Availability, 123 ERA+

●      LHOF Mike Tauchman $5.3 MTV, High Availability, 132 OPS+

●      RHOF Luis Robert Jr -$3.0 MTV, High Availability, 65 OPS+

Most likely, the White Sox won’t be interested in trading their young, controllable pitchers, but Shane Smith (who has two more years of team control attached) would be a name the Yankees might have interest in. Though he’s likely better suited to be a swingman, he might be an upgrade from the now injured Ryan Yarbrough, who had been steadily regressing back to earth prior to sustaining a right oblique strain, as evidenced by his present 104 ERA+. While there’s a lot to like about Yarby’s ability to induce soft contact, Shane Smith wouldn’t be terribly expensive to obtain and he’d be a good match with what the Yankees are looking for right now while also being a fit down the road.

Yarbrough has pitched a surprising 55.1 innings for the Yankees already this season and it's not even July yet. If anyone had told me this last offseason, it would have greatly surprised me. What it signifies though is that the Yankees rotation has been decimated by injuries. The thought here is that trading for Smith might give the back end of the Yankees rotation some stability, while a longer range plan might be to slot Smith into the long man role in the bullpen when the timing is right.

With Luis Gil projected to return to the Yankees rotation by late July, the Yankees might view Smith as insurance in case Gil’s return doesn’t go smoothly. Marcus Stroman could make it back by the end of this month, but there is little reason to believe that Stroman will be an upgrade over Yarbrough, let alone Smith.

Cashman might also try to target Adrian Houser while he’s looking to pilfer pitchers from the White Sox. Houser fits the same mold as Smith, except he’s on an expiring contract and would be a third less expensive to acquire.

Regarding the Sock Man, Mike Tauchman’s ability to help the Yankees outfield, consider that Jasson Dominguez is currently sporting a 107 OPS+ which is well below where many had probably hoped the much hyped prospect would be performing at. There’s also the matter of the Martian’s defense, which is pretty poor. He’s not a good defensive outfielder and though he came up as a center fielder, he’s been forced to left field due to his poor range.

Give the Yankees credit for parking him in left field, instead of moving him all over the outfield and they’re also finding plenty of at-bats for him as well, which has given him a chance to acclimate to Big League pitching to a degree. He’s still very young, though he’s responded with kind of a mixed bag of results. On one hand, he’s absolutely striking out too much, but on the other hand, Dominguez has shown that he’s not overmatched at this, the game’s highest level.

If the Yankees want to give him more time to develop, they might pull off a trade for Tauchman and then in a corresponding move, they could demote Dominguez to let him play regularly in Scranton. The idea of trading Dominguez has also been floated in some internet circles, as his trade value is a reasonable $20.2 MTV, which could be used to help fill some holes in the current roster.

Personally I’m in favor of not trading Dominguez, but I do think he needs more seasoning in the Minor Leagues. Trading for Tauchman would give the Yankees an excellent bat-to-ball presence who could step in and give the Yankees a stronger corner outfield option on the cheap, He’s also also on an expiring contract, which would give Dominguez hope to return to The Show next season.

Sock Man’s StatCast page says he’s still got it and let’s face it, the Yankees could use a player who doesn’t strike out much and who can get on base at a very high clip. Personally, I think Tauchman would look great in the lower third of the Yankees lineup. Since none of the White Sox relievers are high leverage closer types, the Yankees might not need to overpay dramatically. They would however likely need to pony up Roderick Arias and Cam Schlittler to land both Tauchman and Houser.

In order to get both Tauchman and Houser, the Yankees would need to likely part with Spencer Jones and probably Arias as well, so I’ll ask at this juncture - Is a trade like this worth it? If we’re to believe Fangraphs, then there is a very strong chance that neither Jones (45+ Future Value) nor Arias (40+) will amount to much at the MLB level.

According to the Fangraphs scale, Jones has a 50-50 chance of making the Big Leagues and he has a remote shot at becoming an every day player, but he just as easily be a backup player for life. Arias has a 50-50 chance of making the Big Leagues but likely not as an every day player - so we’re likely talking about trading two non-factors here, in exchange for a controllable reliever and a here today with a little help and gone tomorrow placeholder for Dominguez.

Moving along down the “Selling Teams” short list, the Pirates are once again coming into focus as a team that matches up well with the Yankees, as they often do it seems! The Yankees obviously need some help in the Bullpen and the Bucs happen to still have a few pieces that might interest the Yankees. Without further ado, here they are and no, Paul Skenes isn’t even on my list neither is O’Neil Cruz, as the Pirates have said they are not interested at all in making either available:

●      RHCL David Bednar - $5.0 MTV, Low Availability, 145 ERA+

●      LHSP Bailey Falter - $8.0 MTV, Medium Availability, 117 ERA+

Trading for David Bednar is a no-brainer for Cashman and the Yankees. The team needs back end help in the bullpen and Bednar, who is an experienced though slightly mercurial magician, is an inexpensive closer. He also comes with a year of team control so the Pirates would have some solid leverage here and would likely look to extort maximum value for Bednar’s services.

Meanwhile, Falter could fill a similar starter now to bullpen later role with the Yankees. This is another realistic trade that could help the Yankees win both now and later. It would take a package of Spencer Jones and likely, Roderick Arias plus possibly a Cam Schlittler to get a deal like this done. Again and from the Yankees perspective, it’s a lot to give up, so is a trade like this worth it?

Another National League seller, the Nationals, might also have a few trade chips that the Yankees might find to be attractive. Closer Kyle Finnegan is on an expiring deal and is owed a little over $3 million. Considering that he’s second in the NL this year with 18 saves, on the surface at least it seems like it would behoove Yankees GM Brian Cashman to shake National’s GM Dave Martinez’s tree to see what might come loose and fall out.

Finnegan is worth $0.8 MTV so trading for him wouldn’t be too painful as from the National’s perspective, dealing him away would be a salary dump designed to net a viable prospect or two.

●      RHCL Kyle Finnegan - $0.8 MTV, Medium Availability, 139 ERA+

What would it take to land Finnegan? It really depends on the Deadline bidding war that is probably going to happen. We’ve seen top relievers go for over $20 MTV in recent seasons and last year’s AJ Puk and Tanner Scott deals should serve to prepare fans to expect fairly dramatic overpays for buying teams looking to acquire good relievers at the Deadline. What we do know is that almost every buying team wants or needs help in their bullpen.

I’ll forecast that a package of prospects is what the Nationals would want for Finnegan and I think the package could land between $10 MTV and $15 MTV, which would represent…you guessed it - a dramatic overpay! For a team like the Yankees, that acquiring Finnegan might cost the Yankees a package of Cam Schlittler, Carlos Lagrange and, in order to out bid the competition, the Yankees might even have to throw in a lower tier prospect as well.

No article like this would be complete without looking at the worst run, most putrid team in MLB - the Rockies! Colorado actually matches up pretty nicely with the Yankees in terms of the bullpen. The Yankees could use a glue-guy in the bullpen right? Colorado’s Jake Bird checks that box, though trading for him would be a bit expensive as he’s got three years of team control attached.

In addition to Bird, Colorado has two other relievers who might pique Cashman’s interest - Jimmy Herget and Victor Vodnik. Colorado also happens to have an overpaid, underperforming, slick fielding, power hitting third baseman on their hands in Ryan McMahon who’s owed $38 million through 2027, but would he be a fit for the Yankees?

●      RHRP Jake Bird - $11.1 MTV, Medium Availability, 178 ERA+

●      RHRP Jimmy Herget - Negative $0.2 MTV, High Availability, 148 ERA+

●      RHRP Victor Vodnik - $4.2 MTV, Extremely Low Availability, 162 ERA+

●      LH3B Ryan McMahon - Negative $17.2 MTV, Low Availability, 95 OPS+

It seems like Jake Bird has put it all together this season. He’s decreased the usage of what was formerly his bread and butter pitch, his below average sinker and he’s started mixing in his plus-slider and his plus-curveball a whole lot more and the results have been extremely good. Bird is burly, 6’ 200 pound bridge reliever with 10 holds to his credit this season. Given that the Yankees currently rank 18th in Holds with only 44, it’s fair to say that a reliever who could help in this department might be a worthwhile addition to the team.

New York might also be interested in Colorado's other young relievers like the crafty Jimmy Herget, who comes with 2 ½ years of team control, or they might prefer a flame thrower like Vicor Vodnik who has 4 ½ years of control remaining as he’s pre-arbitration eligible. If the Rockies were interested in ridding themselves of McMahon’s contract, they might be willing to package him with a reliever or two in order to get back something of value in return.

On the positive side, since May 7th, McMahon has surged offensively and he’s posted an .839 OPS while slugging 9 home runs and batting .263 and what’s more, his xwOBA of .349 suggests he’s been 27 points unlucky. We know the Yankees are in love with StatCast and they seem to love hoarding players who hit the ball hard and strike out a lot, so Cashman might be able to convince Steinbrenner to take on McMahon’s contract as a way of nudging DJ LeMahieu to the bench.

Personally, I don’t see McMahon as a fit with the Yankees. He strikes out at an alarming 31.4 percent clip, which places him in the bottom 4 percent of MLB. During his hot streak, he struck out at a 35% clip. No thanks! While it may not be an ideal solution, the Yankees are using Jazz Chisholm at third base and though he’s been very good there, it's also true that DJ LeMahieu hasn’t been very good at second base, so I can see the logic in the Yankees wanting to add a third baseman at the deadline.

I’m sure the Yankees would love to land a good third baseman and move Chisholm back to his natural position - which is second base. The amount of money on McMahon’s contract only exacerbates the Yankees payroll issues and I just don’t see adding him to the mix as being in line with Steinbrenneromics but he would be an upgrade over LeMahieu offensively.

If the Yankees do trade with the Rockies, I think they might be best served by targeting a reliever like Jake Bird, whom the Rockies could leverage for a prospect haul starting with Spencer Jones while also forcing the Yankees to include a lower level prospect as well. It seems like not a lot to get for a once hyped prospect like Jones, but hanging onto him for much longer while his value continues to bottom out means that the Yankees run the risk of getting diminishing returns for him. Granted, he’s in the midst of a .989 OPS campaign in Double-A this season, but his value has slipped to $10.2 million due to the holes in his long, looping swing.

Would it be wise for the Yankees to move Jones in order to obtain a controllable bridge reliever like Bird, or is it worth hanging onto Jones to see if he can continue his rise through the system?

Other selling teams with pieces the Yankees might want to trade for exist, but I don’t see many of them as being good matches for the Yankees. For example, the A’s are still content to roll out closer Mason Miller when they get a rare, non consecutive save opportunity these days, but his trade value is very high - at $27.8 MTV, while his availability is characterized as being extremely low. He’s also a fragile pitcher who seems like he could get injured at any moment, so there’s health history here to consider as well.

Even if the A’s wanted to move Miller, the Yankees simply don’t have the expendable prospect capital to go after a high-end closer like Miller - as I don’t see New York being willing to center a package for Miller around the much needed Will Warren. Warren’s name would likely come up in any possible trade for Miller and the A’s would be wondering, what other prospects would the Yankees be willing to put on the table in such a proposal?

Because he does it every year at the Deadline, I’m quite confident that Cashman will undoubtedly pull off a few surprising deals, but this year, he doesn’t have many prospects capable of motivating opposing GM’s to part with top tier talent. Perhaps Cashman will make a flurry of minor moves, probably focusing on improving the bullpen. I’m not sure he’s going to be able to land much more beyond that but if I had to rank trade partners who are known to be selling, that match up well with the Yankees - I’d put the Rockies, White Sox and Pirates at the top of this year’s list.

I’m sure there will be fellow contenders who make win-win trades. These teams will be willing to give ready now talent in order to get back ready now talent. Could the Yankees dangle players like Paul Goldschmidt, Marcus Stroman, Anthony Volpe, Jasson Dominguez, Trent Grisham or others in order to attract another contender interested in making a deal? The answer to that question is probably yes and I think this type of trade could be as close as Yankees fans will get to seeing their team make a blockbuster deal at the Deadline.

Anything can happen of course, but I caution Yankees fans not to expect a whole lot at this year’s Deadline. Characterize me as skeptical.

Now that I’ve covered all of the obvious sellers, what other possible deals are out there for Cashman and the Yankees?