My Trade Deadline Master Plan

By EJ Fagan

July 21, 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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Trade season is upon us. Teams are starting to announce that they will be sellers. It’s getting pretty clear that the Yankees will need a bunch of upgrades. Here’s my plan.

With one exception, I’m not going to speculate about who I would trade for these players. The Yankees have a lot of C+ to B+ trade chips: Elmer Rodriguez, Carlos Lagrange, Jasson Dominguez, Spencer Jones, Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe, and tons of low minors lottery tickets. Plus, I think that they have some room to be creative. I have my criticisms of Brian Cashman, but these kinds of trades are his strength.

Step 1: Promote George Lombard Jr.

If hadn’t suffered a minor finger injury, Lombard would probably be in the majors already. After posting a .518 OPS when he was promoted to Triple-A, Lombard has hit .306/.425/.620 since mid-May with a 23% strikeout rate. He hasn’t missed a beat after his month on the IL, hitting three home runs in four games since returning.

I think you would give him another month or so in the minors in an ideal world. Lombard Jr. is younger than any qualified hitter in the majors right now. He might need some adjustment time in the majors.

But what do they have to lose? Yankee shortstops have a .687 OPS in 2026, and that’s with some incredible batted ball luck from Jose Cabarello. If Lombard Jr. can post a .710 OPS, he would be a huge improvement. His defense is also excellent. He’s the shortstop of the future. Promote him now and see if you feel comfortable selling off Anthony Volpe at the deadline.

Step 2: Trade for Luis Arraez

Arraez is having a fun season:

Just a crazy Statcast page. He’s become a strong defensive player at second base after years of being a liability. His contact skills might be a little overrated; Arraez is probably getting a little lucky on batted balls with his .306 xwOBA. He’s fun, but is he that good?

I want him anyway. First off, check out this chart of missed home runs:

Arraez would have hit 12 home runs if he played all of his games in Yankee stadium. You never see splits this huge. He also goes the other way to left field, where Yankee Stadium will buy him lots of hits.

But also: have you heard about the juiced balls? Check out this chart of drag coefficients:

Basically, it seems like the most recent batch of balls that were manufactured are showing a ton less drag than previous batches. The batch has a similar drag coefficient as the 2017-2019 balls:

Just like in 2017, it took some time for MLB teams to work down their previous stock. Now balls are flying again. The topic probably deserves its own post.

You know who benefits from juiced balls the last time out? Contact hitters who struggle to push home runs over the fence. DJ LeMahieu was an MVP candidate. Gleyber Torres hit 38 home runs. Luis Arraez is one of those guys, especially if he’s trying to pop a few over the short porch.

Trade for Ryan Jeffers (or any other catcher)

Sometimes the right move is the obvious one. I’ll spare you a long section about Jeffers. He’s a catcher. He’s having a great season, but has a solid track record beforehand. He has a connection to Yankee catching coach Tanner Swanson. He’s a free agent. He was hurt but has now returned to play.

Jeffers would immediately become your #1 catcher. Maybe the Yankees keep Austin Wells around in a 1b role. Maybe they trade him. Either way, they need to upgrade over a sub-.600 OPS at the position.

If Jeffers is unavailable, the Yankees need to get any warm body they can find. They’ve been connected to Hunter Goodman, but I would be shocked if the Rockies moved him. A Tyler Stephenson-type will do.

Trade Jazz Chisholm

Okay, here’s my weird one. Once you have Arraez, Chisholm becomes expendable.

Jazz has had some good and bad stretches this season. But the overall offensive numbers are pretty bad:

He’s a solid player, but I’d rather have Arraez. And instead of making Jazz play out of position again, the Yankees could trade him for some value. Unlike prospect-for-rental trades, the Yankees might be able to sell Jazz to a contender.

So who needs a second baseman? The Mariners, Rangers, White Sox, Phillies and Dodgers all come to mind. I have no idea what these teams would give the Yankees in return, but maybe you could pry away a few prospects for other deals.

Trade for Spencer Steer

The Yankees need some Aaron Judge insurance, especially if they plan to use Jones and Dominguez as trade chips. But they also won’t have a place to play a blue chip guy. Enter the Spencer Steer of the Reds:

Steer has been playing mostly 1b and corner outfield for the last few years, although he was a bit more of a (bad) super utility guy in past years. He could hold down right field in Yankee Stadium and not be out of place.

And more importantly, he’s a lefty masher - .839 OPS in his career, more than 1.000 in 2026. He’ll be another strong bench weapon when Judge returns.

He’s under control for two more years as well. I’ll make my one specific trade prediction: Jasson Dominguez for Spencer Steer.

Trade for Two Good Relief Pitchers

The Yankees need serious help with their bullpen. Maybe a converted starter solves that problem, but I wouldn’t count on it. Injuries always happen.

I’m not going to try and name a bunch of random relief pitchers. These guys are commodities at the trade deadline. I don’t really have an opinion about whether the Yankees should go get Kevin Ginkel from the Diamondbacks over Tejay Antone from the Reds. Just get some solid guys.

But, I will join the bandwagon on Luke Weaver from the Mets. Come on home, friend:

I’d like the playoff bullpen to look something like this: Bednar, Cruz, Headrick, Hill, Blackburn, Trade Guy 1 (Weaver), Trade Guy 2, Starter conversion (Weathers?). Other starters can pop into the bullpen as needed.