Which Impact Bat Makes the Most Sense?

Which Impact Bat Makes the Most Sense?

By Cary Greene

November 24, 2025

*** 

Yankees GM Brian Cashman is searching for an impact bat, which begs the question - which one to go all-in on? Bryan Hoch from MLB.COM reported this past Thursday that the Yankees are zeroing in on one of Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker, Paul Goldschmidt and surprisingly, Kyle Schwarber. Cashman also mentioned potential interest in Tatsuya Imai and bullpen pieces Devin Williams and Luke Weaver.

Zeroing in on the impact bats the Yankees have been linked to, I must admit, I’m very enthused to hear names like Tuck, Goldy, Schwaba, and Belly being branded about. Which of these players are the best fit and are there any other dark horse impact bat candidates out there, be them either free agents or trade candidates?

More than likely, Kyle Tucker isn’t an ideal fit with the Yankees. He’s projected to be far more expensive than, say, Cody Bellinger, while being far less versatile. As much as I love the idea of Kyle Schwarber in pinstripes, Giancarlo Stanton continues to clog the Yankees main DH artery like a wad of hardened cheese curd.

Among other syndicates, the New York Post is reporting that due to a desire to cut payroll, the Rangers may listen to offers for their superstar shortstop, Cory Seager. With the Yankees very interested in bringing back Bellinger and also looking at other bats who could impact their lineup very positively, Seager for me jumps to the head of the list. He’s owed $189 million over the remaining six years of his current contract, but there is a lot to like with Seager and quite frankly, I’m of the belief that the Yankees should have signed him as a free agent back during the wild-wild offseason of 2021.

Seager is a terrific hitter and his StatCast metrics are pretty astounding. He’s not fleet of foot, but he has exceptional range as a shortstop, which means in the short time, he could replace Anthony Volpe altogether. Where his potent bat would slot into the Yankees offense is debatable, but it might make sense, based on his absurd career .358 OBP (.373 ly) and his left-handedness, to bat him in front of Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.

With Trent Grisham in the fold, the Yankees most pressing need is now at shortstop, so trading for Seager would be akin to signing a big time free agent and none of the players the Yankees are currently considering happen to play shortstop. In fact, Seager is an even better fit with the Yankees than Bo Bichette would be.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of signing an impact bat who is on the Yankees shopping list, but not at the expense of nabbing Seager in a blockbuster trade. Many scouts have long projected that Corey Seager would eventually slide over to third base and that would work for the Yankees down the line. Perhaps after a few more seasons, he will make the long projected transition to third base.  That said, he’s still a far above average shortstop so that day has nary yet come.

What if there were room in the budget to not only trade for Seager, but sign Bellinger as well? Wouldn’t that be a cool offseason set of maneuvers on Cashman’s part? Bellinger would play all three outfield positions and also serve as a primary first baseman. In that

If Austin Wells were to be traded in a package for an ace starter, imagine this lineup for just a few moments:

1.     Grisham CF

2.    Seager SS

3.    Judge RF

4.    Bellinger 1B

5.    Rice C

6.    Stanton DH

7.    Chisholm 2B

8.    Dominguez LF

9.    Caballero 3B (it’s rumored that Texas would want Ryan McMahon in a deal for Seager)

Point blank, I think this lineup could win a World Series and with Wells, who has buku trade value, projected currently at $40.2 MTV in a market that is starving for catchers, the Yankees could probably swing a big trade for a front end of the rotation starter.