Five Thoughts as Trade Season Approaches

By EJ Fagan

June 25, 2026

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The following post comes from EJ Fagan's Substack, Baseball Is Life. It is shared with permission.

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It’s June. The Yankees are on a (so far) brief losing streak. But the vibes are still pretty good. It’s nice to play in a league with one good team.

I have five thoughts on the Yankees as we get close to the draft and trade season.

Ryan Jeffers Makes So Much Sense for the Yankees

Everyone and their mother is reporting the same thing: the Yankees are interested in Twins right-handed catcher Ryan Jeffers. He’s a righty. He’s a free agent. He’s an upgrade over Austin Wells. He has a strong connection to Yankees catching coach Tanner Swanson.

And before injuring his hamate bone, he was having a banner season.

Jeffers is due back soon. We’ll see how he looks at the plate - hand injuries are complicated. He probably won’t continue to post a .949 OPS, but I’d sure take his 2026 .753 OPS right now. He’d probably be more of a #1 catcher than a shared platoon with Austin Wells.

Sometimes the obvious move is obvious for a reason (see Bellinger, Cody). If the Twins decide to trade Jeffers, the Yankees are an obvious destination. It will cost a decent prospect but won’t break the bank.

Anthony Volpe is Playing His Best Baseball in a Long Time

It wasn’t that long ago that people are calling for Volpe to be sent back down and Jose Cabarello to be the everyday shortstop. No more. Volpe is starting most games at the position and playing well enough.

He’s playing at roughly a 4.5 win pace right now, helped by excellent defense (top-10 among all MLB fielders on a rate basis) and surprisingly good hitting. He’s benefitting a bit from the Yankees facing so many lefties recently (.847 OPS against), but he’s been holding his own against righties (.693 OPS).

We’ll see if it lasts. Hopefully Boone continues to give him occasional off days at shortstop against tough righties. I’m a little skeptical of the walk rate. But even if his hitting takes a step back, a .300 wOBA shortstop with excellent defense plays. Or alternatively, maybe he keeps it up and fulfills his potential.

I’d still love to trade for a Zach Neto or Jeremy Pena, but maybe the Yankees shouldn’t be so incredibly desperate to upgrade at shortstop and instead focus elsewhere.

It’s Rough Out There in Bullpen Trade Land

I’m sure that I’m not the only person to be scrolling through other team’s rosters to find potential relief pitcher deadline trades. And I’m also sure that I’m not the only person coming up empty.

Teams are real thin in the bullpen now, especially deadline sellers. The Nationals have Clayton Beeter closing games. The Marlins have a floundering Pete Fairbanks. The second best pitcher in the Pirates bullpen is old friend Dennis Santana. The Tigers might sell a 39 year old Kenley Jansen. The Mets have Luke Weaver and Devin Williams doing more of their 2025 act. The Giants are filled with negative WAR guys. Even good teams like the Cardinals are pitching guys with 4.00+ ERAs in late innings. Yikes.

A few names stand out.

Gregory Soto would make a great lefty setup guy.

Also, the Diamondbacks might not sell, but if they do Paul Sewald might be better than Bednar.

Here’s a fun one. Josh Hader is back from injury and pitched well in his first eight innings, although he’s under contract for a while.

But my #1 target is Padres relief pitcher Adrian Morejon, who is having a huge free agent season throwing 100 mph sinkers.

Ryan Weathers’ Bullpen Conversion Can’t Come Soon Enough

After a promising start to the season, I think it’s pretty clear that Ryan Weathers is the starter on the outside of the Yankees rotation once Max Fried returns. He’s been inconsistent and prone to disaster.

To his credit, Weathers has been a picture of health all season after a long injury history in Florida. The Yankees would be in trouble without him. But it’s pretty clear that Weathers is just eating innings. He won’t start a playoff game. He isn’t taking the next step that we all hoped when we saw his stuff in Spring Training.

But maybe he can take the next step out out of the bullpen in a short role. We know that his fastball will play. Hurry back, Max Fried.

Healthy Prime-Age Players Play like the Back of Their Baseball Card

Since May 1st:

• Jazz Chisholm has a .788 OPS

• Ryan McMahon as a .699 OPS

• Jose Cabarello has a .733 OPS

• Ben Rice has a .888 OPS

• Trent Grisham has a .847 OPS

• Amed Rosario has a .710 OPS

Holy regression to the mean, Batman! After some pretty extreme Aprils (on both the high and low ends), the Yankee veterans are all pretty much hitting their projections. Ryan McMahon is a gold glove defender again. Trent Grisham is doing what he did in 2025. Amed Rosario is a bench player. The only guy still playing much different than what we expected is Jose Cabarello, who has been a .700+ OPS guy since the Yankees traded for him.

In a world where the average MLB hitter is slashing .243/.319/.399, these guys are all doing their part on a 95 win team. The Yankees aren’t in a stars-and-scrubs situation like 2021-the first half of 2025.