Buster Olney continues to create smoke with the Yankees‘ potential deadline plans, linking them not only to bullpen support, but also outfield reinforcements.
He reports that the Yankees have kicked tires on deals for both Harrison Bader and Austin Slater, with both right-handed bats providing strong offense against southpaws.
Bader, who played for the Yankees between 2022-2023, has a .774 OPS and .456 SLG% against left-handed pitching and has familiarity with the organization.
The Yankees loved his glove and truly believed he could be a stellar player in the outfield, but the team’s struggles led them to cutting him loose to open playing time for younger players.
Slater would be a new addition entirely, sporting a .908 OPS and 151 wRC+ against lefties this season, with a career .801 OPS in those matchups.
Right-Handed Hitting Depth Remains a Need For the Yankees
The Yankees’ pursuit of a right-handed hitting outfielder might perplex some, especially following the report today that the team had been in search of a right-handed hitting infielder from Joel Sherman.
Harrison Bader and Austin Slater would be brilliant hitters against southpaws, with Bader being a versatile defender who can play Gold Glove defense in either left field or center field.
Pitching remains a big focus for the organization, but their search for another right-handed hitter is due to a potential trade that the team could make with one of their left-handed hitters.
Sources tell Empire Sports Media that J.C. Escarra is drawing trade interest in the market, and that the Yankees have not completely shut down trade talks regarding outfielders on the roster.
READ MORE: Yankees trade veteran starting pitcher to Braves
The catching depth for the Yankees remains an area they’ll trade from, despite a report coming out that Rafael Flores is untouchable.
Interest in trading away Flores specifically could wane if they move someone such as Escarra (or Ben Rice, although that doesn’t seem super likely), but they have yet to shut down trade talks regarding a catcher.
Brian Cashman is a curious GM; he will not completely shutdown the opportunity to explore what a player’s value is if there’s depth at that position, as seen with Jordan Montgomery back in 2022.
When New York had surplus pitching depth, they traded away Michael King despite people inside the organization viewing him as a potential frontline starter.
Things could explode any day at the deadline, and while not every big name is a guarantee to be moved, the Yankees are expected to go down plenty of routes to see how they can turn some roster surpluses into potential pitching additions.
!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“has-featured-video”,”true”)})}();