From New York Yankees to Toronto Blue Jays: 1 trade chip for every AL East team
The American League East is the MLB's most stacked division. The New York Yankees are 40-15, the Toronto Blue Jays are 33-23, and the Tampa Bay Rays are just one win behind them at 32-23. And then you've got the Boston Red Sox, who rose from the depths of a 10-19 record on May 8 to a now-winning record of 29-27. The Baltimore Orioles take up the rear with a 24-33 record, but get this: They're the only last-place team divisionally other than the Colorado Rockies with a wining percentage above .400.
The New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Boston Red Sox are all playoff contenders and will be looking to add depth come early August's trade deadline. They've all got chips to offer, and the Baltimore Orioles have a big chip to sell. Come August 2, which players will each of these teams be selling?
1 potential trade chip for every AL East team
Let's take it top to bottom as the standings run right now.
New York Yankees
Being obvious buyers, the New York Yankees are looking to trade away players who aren't essential to their now-expected deep playoff run. As things look right now, Joey Gallo certainly is not an essential piece for the New York Yankees. In fact, he's a detriment. The 28-year-old is batting just .186 with six home runs and 10 RBIs. Gallo has never been known as a good average hitter. The highest he's batted in a season was .253. But he's got power. In 2017 and 2018, he had back-to-back campaigns of 40 home runs or more. When the New York Yankees acquired him in 2021, he was supposed to be perfect for them. He's a left-handed hitter and Yankee Stadium's right-field wall is only 314 feet deep.
I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather watch Miguel Andújar play baseball than Aaron Hicks or Joey Gallo.
"I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather watch Miguel Andújar play [New York Yankees] baseball than Aaron Hicks or Joey Gallo." - @ Jake Montgomery
Maybe it's the pressure of playing in a big market, or maybe it's something else. The bottom line is that Joey Gallo looks like he's forgotten how to do the one thing he's good at: hitting home runs. As a trade chip, his value is extremely low right now. The New York Yankees wouldn't get much for him, but at least they'd be free to make a deep playoff run without him.
Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is playing the best baseball of his life right now. The right-handed batter holds a .322 average with a .477 slugging percentage and a .401 on-base percentage. He strikes out less often than all but four players in the league right now, as he holds an 8.3% strikeout rate.
Alejandro Kirk has the 5th best strikeout rate in MLB this year (8.3%).
He's up to a 135 wRC+ (35% better than league average) and is 4th among all catchers with 1.2 WAR and an .814 OPS.
#Elite
"Alejandro Kirk [Toronto Blue Jays] has the 5th best strikeout rate in MLB this year (8.3%). He's up to a 135 wRC+ (35% better than league average) and is 4th among all catchers with 1.2 WAR and an .814 OPS." - @ Josh Goldberg
The Toronto Blue Jays are stacked with good catchers right now. Danny Jansen is batting .232 with seven home runs over just 56 at bats this season. His biggest problem is that he's been battling injuries on and off since April. First, he strained his oblique, and now he's back on the 10-day injured list with a fractured finger. If the Toronto Blue Jays can't rely on Jansen being healthy, it greatly reduces the chance of them selling Kirk high. Minor-leaguer Gabriel Moreno is another excellent catcher in the Toronto Blue Jays' system, but it seems unlikely they'll deal him.
Tampa Bay Rays
According to beat writer Adam Berry, the Tampa Bay Rays could be looking to trade their infield prospect Xavier Edwards. Drafted by the San Diego Padres in the first round of the 2018 draft, Edwards is essentially a utility infielder who brings an excellent batting average to the table. The 22-year-old can play third base, second base, and shortstop. He consistently hit over .300 in low-A, and he's hovering around a .260 average during his first year on Triple-A Durham this season. Seeing as the Rays already have promising young infielders like Wander Franco, Brandon Lowe, and Taylor Walls, they could afford to trade away a prospect like Edwards to add depth to their roster for a playoff run.
Boston Red Sox
If early August rolls around and the Boston Red Sox are still in the playoff hunt, they'll be buyers. But even if they're not and are looking to sell, J.D. Martinez seems like their most-likely trade chip. He's batting .359 with a .974 OPS right now. Martinez's contract expires at the end of this season, meaning he'll be in for a significant pay raise if he keeps those numbers anywhere near where they are right now. He's also 34 years old and doesn't have much baseball left in him.
The Red Sox aren't hungry for extra offense right now, so trading Martinez wouldn't harm run production drastically. They need a reliable bullpen arm, however. Trading Martinez away for a high-leverage arm would be the Boston Red Sox's best bet. The New York Yankees might be able to help them with that.
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles might have the division's best trade chip in Trey Mancini. The 30-year-old outfielder, first baseman, and designated hitter has positional versatility and boasts a healthy average. His contract expires next season, and he will almost certainly not re-sign with Baltimore. He'll be too expensive.
Mancini is batting .303 with six home runs and 24 RBIs this season. Those numbers have also been affected by Camden Yards' extended left field wall. Based on the amount of deep fly balls Mancini has hit to left field, the numbers suggest that his home run total would be around 10 or 11 if the wall hadn't been extended. Teams with short left fields should be interested in Mancini. Fenway Park's Green Monster is tall, but it's just 310 feet deep. The Boston Red Sox need a pitcher, not a hitter, but Mancini in Fenway will always be an interesting possibility. The New York Yankees could also be in contention.