New York Yankees: Final 2017 Trade Deadline Predictions, Fact or Fiction

A year after being one of the more active sellers at the trade deadline, the New York Yankees are back in a familiar scenario: looking to add pieces for a postseason push. They've already pulled off one major move but are far from done wheeling and dealing.

The acquisition of third baseman Todd Frazier and relievers Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson on July 19 addressed only some of the Yankees' needs as they prepare for the stretch run in both the American League East and wild-card races.

Where else do they need to upgrade, and which options are on their radar? What will it take to make that happen, and what is the likelihood they'll be able to make a deal before the July 31 deadline? Follow along as we outline the Yankees' trade picture.

Team Needs

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Greg Bird's ankle injury furthers the needs for the Yankees to add a bat at first base.

First base

A position that for so long was one of consistent strength for the Yankees, production at first base has been on a steady downward trend for a few years and has bottomed out in 2017 with no real long-term option on the active roster. In fact, most of the games played at that position are by guys either no longer with the team (Chris Carter) or injured (Greg Bird) without a return to action anytime soon.

Collectively, the Yankees have used 11 different players at first with nine making at least two starts. That group has combined to hit .216 with 14 home runs and 40 RBI and a paltry .703 OPS. Compare that to 2015, when the first basemen hit 43 homers with 116 RBI and an .852 OPS, all team highs.

As it stands, the Yankees are going with Chase Headley and recent pickup Garrett Cooper at first though the newly acquired Todd Frazier has played 95 career games at the position including a few this season for the Chicago White Sox. Adding an everyday first baseman can allow Frazier to stay at third and turn Headley into a corner backup, with Bird able to get involved if he can return later this season from ankle surgery.

Starting pitching

Adding David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle now gives the Yankees a deep bullpen to the point some are suggesting they start going to a more playoff-style pitching approach in the near future.

“In last year’s playoffs Indians manager Terry Francona went to his best reliever Andrew Miller in a fireman role as early as the 5th inning to deal with dangerous situations,” SB Nation's Miles Park wrote, adding that (Yankees manager Joe) “Girardi should look to be deploying his best options in the same way, even in the early innings.”

That's a great idea in theory, but if you've got strong horses in the rotation, there's less need to go to the relief stable so soon. The Yankees don't have that outside of Luis Severino, with no other pitcher averaging better than six innings per start.

The loss of Michael Pineda to Tommy John surgery further adds to the urgency to add a reliable arm, and the Yankees will do their best to add one before the deadline.

Top Trade Chips

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RHP Chance Adams, a 2015 draft pick, is among the Yankees' best pieces of young talent that could be used to swing a big trade.

Prior to the start of the 2017 season, MLB.com rated the Yankees as having the second-best farm system in baseball. They had to give up three prospects, along with reliever Tyler Clippard, in the deal with the Chicago White Sox, the most notable being outfielder Blake Rutherford, but with a still-stocked farm system, there are plenty of players who can be used to acquire instant help for the big-league club.

A few that don't figure to get dangled as trade bait: shortstop Gleyber Torres, who was part of the Aroldis Chapman trade with the Chicago Cubs last season, as well as outfielder Clint Frazier (hitting .295 with three home runs and 11 RBI in 16 games since being promoted to the majors).

RHP Chance Adams

A converted reliever, Adams has dominated this season at both Double-A (4-0, 1.03 ERA) and Triple-A (6-3, 2.37) while striking out 99 in 103.1 innings. The 22-year-old has an innings limit (per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand), which negates his chance to help the Yankees this season but doesn't lessen his future value to other teams.

3B Miguel Andujar

He had a cup of coffee in the bigs in late June, going 3-for-4 with four RBI against the Chicago White Sox in his Major League debut. That was his only appearance before the Yankees pulled up Frazier, but the 22-year-old Andujar has remained hot in the minors, hitting .315 in 23 games with Scranton.

RHP Jonathan Holder

Back down at Triple-A after spending most of the season with the big-league club, Holder has performed admirably as a middle reliever, but the addition of Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson minimizes his value for the remainder of 2017. Other teams could do worse than adding a 24-year-old with a respectable 3.47 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 34 strikeouts in 36.1 innings.

2B/SS Jorge Mateo

The No. 3 prospect in the Yankees' system, per Newsday, 22-year-old Mateo was signed at 16 out of the Dominican Republic and has been slowly climbing toward the majors. He's at Double-A after beginning the season at High-A and is hitting .344 with a 1.016 OPS since his promotion in late June.

LHP Justus Sheffield

The Yankees' top pitching prospect, Sheffield is only 21 but could be in the Yankees' big-league plans for 2018. He was acquired from the Cleveland Indians in the Andrew Miller trade and this season at Double-A is 7-5 with a 3.09 ERA in 16 starts, striking out 79 in 90.1 innings.

The Dream Scenario

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It was just before the All-Star break that Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported the Yankees were “pursuing a trade for Justin Bour,” and that was before the Miami Marlins slugger went toe-to-toe with Aaron Judge in the Home Run Derby. After that clash, which saw Judge edge Bour 23-22 in the first round, Yankee fans had to be salivating at the thought of having those two on the same team.

Those fans will probably get cotton mouth before seeing that happen, though.

It isn't likely the Marlins would want to part with such a rising star, particularly one who is under team control at such a great price. The 29-year-old Bour, who didn't make his big-league debut until June 2014, isn't a free agent until 2021 and is making only $552,500 this season.

Bour, hitting .290 with 21 homers and 63 RBI with a .917 OPS, would solve all of the Yankees' first base problems. But the Yankees would probably have to give up a ridiculous amount of prospects for Miami to even consider a deal, and there are several comparable (and cheaper) options available.

Fact or Fiction on Latest Trade Rumors

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Mets 1B Lucas Duda is among the options the Yankees are exploring.

Oakland 1B Yonder Alonso (Fact): Alonso is having a breakout season for the Athletics, hitting .267 with 21 home runs and 45 RBI and a .907 OPS while making his first All-Star Game appearance (where he was 2-for-2 with singles off Zack Greinke and Kenley Jansen). He's a free agent after the season and is set to get paid, but ESPN's Buster Olney reported the A's have yet to seriously discuss an extension.

Enter the Yankees and their fondness for spending, not to mention copious amounts of prospects that a team headed for a rebuild like Oakland—sending relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson to Washington earlier this month is a clear sign of that—would gladly welcome.

According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Yankees are the “only bidder” for Alonso, but so far, the offers haven't been good. Give it time—a deal can be made here.

Texas RHP Yu Darvish (Fact): Darvish figures to be one of the bigger names on the 2018 free agent market, and while the Texas Rangers would love to retain their ace, there's no guarantee another team won't make a better offer. Though Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal said the Rangers have “an unusually close relationship” with Darvish, the chance to pick up some assured value for him now might be too hard to pass up.

The Yankees wouldn't be the only team that would want to add the 31-year-old righty, who got a no-decision despite allowing just three runs with 12 strikeouts in eight innings Friday. He's 6-8 with 3.44 ERA for the season, his 143 Ks third in the American League.

The New York Post's George A. King III reported the Yankees had a scout in Tampa for Darvish's Friday performance, and Rosenthal tweeted Saturday night a three-prospect offer has been made to the Rangers.

New York Mets 1B Lucas Duda (Fiction): Could the crosstown rivals trade players for the first time since 2003 when the Yankees picked up pitcher Armando Benitez for prospects? Joel Sherman of the New York Post thinks so, and he's even outlined the particulars, coming up with four pools of players the Mets should pick from among the Yankees' system.

Duda is probably the Yankees' Plan B if they can't get Alonso, and his numbers back that up. The 31-year-old is hitting .245 with 17 home runs and 37 RBI with an .887 OPS, the OPS number a career high.

This feels more like back-burner interest that would only get moved to the front if the Yankees strike out on their effort to get Alonso.

Oakland RHP Sonny Gray (Fiction): At 27 years old compared to the 31 of Darvish, Gray has much more long-term value since he's just getting into his arbitration years and won't be a free agent until 2020. The righty is 6-4 with a 3.66 ERA in 15 starts after having his 2017 debut delayed until May because of a lat strain.

Gray won 14 games each in 2014-15 with good ERA but dipped to 5-11 with 5.69 ERA last season and spent additional time on the disabled list, calling into question his “sturdiness,” according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. That makes it less likely the Yankees would offer as many prospects to Oakland as they would for Darvish or Alonso, their main targets.

Final Deadline Predictions

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The Yankees traditionally accomplish their goals at the deadline, particularly when they're buying, so that means a first baseman and a starter should get added in the next week.

Yonder Alonso is the safest bet among the names being linked, and the Yankees have the bankroll to be able to sign him to a sizable contract. If not, then Duda is a solid backup.

On the pitching front, Darvish makes for the kind of big splash the Yankees are always striving for but only occasionally pull off. He'd immediately move to No. 1 or 2 in the rotation, and that time in the Bronx will serve as an extended recruitment of him for 2018.

Statistics are provided by Baseball Reference and MiLB.com, unless otherwise noted. Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.