The Yankees need an upgrade at third base.
The New York Yankees have started to play better baseball as of late after a rough month of June took them out of first place in the American League East.
They still are three games out, but lead the Wild Card race and have now won seven of their last 10 games. They'll likely be buyers at the trade deadline, which is now 10 days away.
Third base is an area of need for the Bronx Bombers. DJ LeMahieu was released, and they feel more comfortable with Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic listed a few candidates to fill the hole, including Kansas City Royals All-Star Maikel Garcia.
"In terms of third base, they’ve been linked to Eugenio Suárez of the Diamondbacks, but there is concern about his defense. Other possible third-base trade targets include Royals All-Star Maikel Garcia — in theory, Kansas City would have interest in one of the Yankees’ outfielders to play left field for them," Bowden wrote.
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Garcia is not a free agent until 2030 and has put together a very strong season with the Royals this year. He is hitting .292/.347/.444 with eight home runs, 41 RBI, a 2.6 WAR, 18 stolen bases and a .790 OPS.
The Yankees would likely have to give up a haul to land Garcia, and they don't have many top prospects to spare. However, Garcia would provide a significant upgrade at third base.
This could help New York get back into the AL East race and potentially reclaim the top spot in the division by the end of the season.
The Royals are falling out of contention, so it is always possible that they could shop key pieces of their core. It will be interesting to see how the Yankees navigate the deadline.
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Category: Baseball
