Jon Heyman of the New York Post has reported that the Yankees like both Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Luis Rengifo, both of whom are versatile infielders that could be moved at the trade deadline.
The Yankees have a clear issue in their infield, and Heyman reports that the team is beginning to make calls around the league to try and acquire an infielder for third base.
With IKF, there is some familiarity as he played for the Yankees from 2022-2023, but the team used him as a shortstop and utilityman, while his best defensive position has consistently been third base.
As for Luis Rengifo, he’s been strong at second base this year but utterly atrocious at third base, and his bat has regressed a lot from his 2024 season.
The lack of infield options create a bleak market for the Yankees to improve their infield, and these two utilitymen pose at least some semblance of depth.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Luis Rengifo Could Provide Versatility to Yankees’ Bench
The Yankees are going to look for infield help wherever they can find it, and this market is not particularly friendly to teams looking for a third baseman.
Luis Rengifo doesn’t provide much of a defensive improvement but he at least moves Jazz Chisholm back to second base, but his glove at third base is bad.
He has -6 Defensive Runs Saved at the position in just over 400 innings pitched, and if the Yankees want to fortify their infield, Rengifo is not going to help at all.
The bat has been productive before, with a 111 wRC+ across 331 games from 2022-2024, but his bat has regressed to a mere 64 wRC+ in 2025.
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New York could prefer a reunion with IKF instead because of his brilliant defensive work at third base, and his baserunning abilities could help them as well.
The Yankees are bad on the bases and with the glove in the infield, and while an 85 wRC+ does nothing of note for the offense, he can convert grounders into outs and take extra bases when needed.
Furthermore, he’s a free agent at the end of the season and would be cheap to acquire from the Pirates, so the Yankees might be able to scoop him up with ease.
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