The New York Yankees will likely be buyers at this year’s trade deadline, which means they’ll need prospects to trade for upgrades. Ideally, they can avoid trading their best talent in the farm system, and one of the ways they can avoid that is by trading prospects who are close to the big leagues and can provide an immediate impact to an awful roster. One of the players who could find themselves on the trade block this summer is first base prospect T.J. Rumfield, who was Rule 5 eligible last season but went undrafted, leaving him in the Yankees’ organization.
After struggling to hit for much power last season, Rumfield has looked much better at the plate this season, hitting home runs at a higher rate than last year while making a ton of contact and getting on base more. With the Yankees’ logjam at first base and DH this season, they could use Rumfield as trade bait or depth in case of an injury, and his stock has climbed significantly as a result of key changes made at the plate.
T.J. Rumfield Could Be An Important Part of the Yankees’ Summer Plans
Standing at a towering 6’5, T.J. Rumfield has been in the Yankees’ farm system since 2022, being acquired from the Phillies for Nick Nelson after the 2021 season. He’s always run low strikeout rates while walking a lot, but his ability to do damage on contact has lagged behind despite his tall frame. As a first baseman, there’s far more pressure on his bat in order for him to project long-term as a starter in the big leagues, but this year he’s seemed to figure out the game power.
He still isn’t barrelling the ball a ton, but he’s pulling the ball in the air consistently, resulting in a .202 ISO and .513 SLG% through 33 games. Rumfield’s ability to pull the ball to right field should play well at Yankee Stadium, and if the Yankees were to suffer a myriad of injuries at first base and DH, they could promote him and get some solid at-bats with a steady glove.
Without a swarm of injuries, there won’t be much playing time for T.J. Rumfield to grab in the Major Leagues, which leads me to wonder whether the Yankees will trade him or not this summer. If they choose to hold onto him, they’ll either have to roster him on their 40-man or choose to let him go into the Rule 5 draft unprotected, where he will likely be plucked by a team looking to add some cheap depth to the first base position.
He’s had a strong campaign with the Scranton RailRiders thus far, slashing .304/.401/.513 with a 148 wRC+ across 33 games, and that could lead to him helping the Yankees land an impactful piece this deadline.
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T.J. Rumfield is similar to someone like Ben Cowles and Hoy Park, both of whom performed well in the upper levels of the Minor Leagues before being traded for relievers. Mark Leiter Jr. was brought in for Cowles and reliever Jack Neely, while Park was packaged with Diego Castillo for Clay Holmes, deals that made important upgrades to the bullpen. The Yankees could also use Rumfield as a sweetener in a bigger deal, providing a rebuilding team with a steady presence at first base.
Steamer projects a 94 wRC+ for Rumfield’s median outcome, and some teams could project more of a league-average bat at the Major League level. That might sound underwhelming, but with the strong glove at first base, that would serve as an upgrade for a lot of teams who might sell at the deadline. He may not be their franchise cornerstone there, but getting six cheap years of decent production at first base will be enticing enough for teams who could use help there.
This season, Rumfield ranks in the 97th Percentile in Pulled Flyball%, the 71st Percentile in Damage%, and the 80th Percentile in Zone Contact%. The blend of raw power and contact should be enough to provide a formidable at-bat as soon as he’s promoted, and without much room for him to get a promotion to the big leagues with the Yankees, a trade could benefit both parties here.