Let’s discuss what would be a nightmare scenario for the Yankees in free agency, which would be whiffing on both Cody Bellinger and Kyle Tucker.
What if teams decide to just blow these two out of the water with offers when for most of the offseason there’s been a general lack of serious interest in either player?
Just because it seems unlikely doesn’t make it impossible, all it takes is one phone call for something that was perceived to be a high-probability outcome to become an afterthought.
In case of that scenario, we’re going to look at some options on the trade market whom the Yankees could pursue in the scenario that free agency doesn’t go the way they hope for.
READ MORE: Yankees Landed a Potential Ace From The Red Sox And Nobody is Noticing
Could Brendan Donovan Fill a Need as the Yankees’ Left Field?
Brendan Donovan continues to get linked to the Yankees despite there not being an apparent fit on the roster, so does that mean they view him as a left field option?
I’d consider him a firmly below-average defender in the outfield, as he’s contributed +2 DRS but also has -5 FRV in 1,450.1 innings out there.
He lost some speed this past season and seems to be better-suited for an infield role, but Donovan did patrol a large outfield in St. Louis which gives me hope that the defense wouldn’t get worse in Yankee Stadium.
Offensively there’s no question about the fit, Brendan Donovan has produced a wRC+ of at least 115 in each of his four MLB seasons while sporting an xwOBA no lower than .335.
Donovan ran an 8.8% Barrel% and 40.9% Hard-Hit%, the highest marks of his career, but his calling card has always been an elite ability to make contact.
He’s a contact maestro who would hit for more power at Yankee Stadium, as is Donovan played all of his home games in the Bronx this past season, he would have hit an additional four home runs on the season.
Two of those were doubles, the other two were flyouts, which would have given the left-hander an additional 12 bases on the season.
That alone would have boosted his SLG% from .422 to .448 and his OBP from .353 to .357, which improves the overall OPS to .805.
It’s not a perfect science, but even if he were to lose some singles to the shorter right field wall, it’ll take a lot of singles to make up for 12 additional TBs.
Brendan Donovan has had issues staying healthy and doesn’t hit LHP, so you might need a platoon partner and a viable insurance policy in-case he gets hurt (which could just be one player).
Not sure where I’d consider this in terms of likelihood, you could question whether the Yankees would even consider him as a full-time left fielder or not, but it can’t be ruled out.
The Yankees Could Explore This High-Upside Lefty to Replace Cody Bellinger
It is 11:55 PM EST on a Tuesday night and I am writing about Lars Nootbaar.
This past season was an interesting one for the Cardinals’ talented left fielder who dealt with injuries, had good underlying metrics, but underperformed and had his worst season to date.
A lot of players have either had their careers crash and burn after the weight of countless injuries while others have rebounded with wise organizations who look at the strong exit velocity numbers with good contact rates and bite.
We’ve seen the Yankees crush it with this archatype of talented left-handed hitters who have struggled to reach their previous career heights, Jazz Chisholm and Trent Grisham are among the few that come to mind in recent memory.
Nootbaar is a natural fit defensively but has slowed over the years, the Yankees should hope that offseason surgery on both of his heels allow him to return to being the well-moving outfielder he used to be.
For similar reasons as to Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar would perform well at Yankee Stadium relative to Busch Stadium, and he doesn’t even pull a lot of his flyballs.
If he’s able to hit more flyballs to right field we could be looking at a 20 HR guy who produces a .350 OBP from the left-handed side, and I’m not convinced he’d be helpless against lefties.
This is the best bet on the market for taking a flier with a reasonable shot of producing an excellent season in 2026, he has a 114 projected wRC+ on Steamer and that’s just two points behind Cody Bellinger.
It wasn’t too long ago that Cody Bellinger was a guy coming off an injury-riddled season who projected as a ~110 wRC+ bat in the corner outfield
We’re Going To Keep Suggesting NL Central Outfielders
Ian Happ is the kind of player who I think gets underrated in a world where guys fluctuate wildly in performance on a year-to-year basis.
For four seasons straight he’s produced an OPS+ in the 115-125 range with a ~3 WAR outcome in the corner outfield, making him the kind of player who you can pencil in for 20 HRs and a .340 OBP.
He’s a really good fit for the Yankees because he’s someone they targeted a few years back and because he could leadoff for them if they choose to move Trent Grisham down the lineup.
There’s not much to be mad about with Happ as a Yankee, he’ll play a solid left field won’t expand t he zone and will hit the ball in the air hard enough to provide a solid SLG%.
Only issue here is that unlike the other two players, I don’t think Ian Happ is getting a Yankee Stadium boost and could in fact get hurt by this ballpark since he does lift a lot of flyballs to the opposite-field.
That being said, I wouldn’t be worried about some ballpark change ruining his approach or swing, I’d be confident in saying that the Yankees could re-work things with his spray angle to take advantage of the short right porch as well.
I’m not adding much here about tweaks the way I did for Lars Nootbaar or any logistical issues with defense like I had to with Brendan Donovan, he’s straight-up just a good left fielder.
He doesn’t have the 4-5 WAR upside of a Cody Bellinger but doesn’t have the wild pitfalls that make you question the contract by 2027.
A rental, he differs from Nootbaar (2 years) and Donovan (2 years) in control and also in cost, coming in at ~$20 million for the 2026 season.
The Cubs would have to be willing to move a rental in this scenario as well and for a team in contention, that is more of an if than a given.
Finally Moving Away From the Central…In the National League
Despite probably having the highest trade price tag of the group so far, Steven Kwan had the second-worst wRC+ and OPS+ this past season of the group.
He is by far the best defensive player here though, as the Gold Glove winning outfielder is a game-changer with the glove that has been one of the most valuable defensive outfielders in the game.
Projections are all-in on a rebound season with a 113 wRC+ and 3.2 WAR in 154 games, which would be exactly what the Yankees are looking for in the outfield.
Kwan is your leadoff man and could add some pop at Yankee Stadium, but declining athleticsm and a high prospect cost could deter the Yankees despite an excellent roster fit.
Sure the singles approach might not work that well for his batting average but Cleveland is also terrible for left-handed hitters.
Unlike Progressive Field, Yankee Stadium has a part of the field that directly benefits small slap hitters who can’t reliably muscle the ball out of the yard to boost their OPS.
Not to be Debbie Downer here, but the Guardians asked the Dodgers for two of their five best prospects for Steven Kwan, so I’m not entirely sure the Yankees are going to avoid overpaying Cody Bellinger to overpay for Steven Kwan in a trade.