Yankees' mock trade brings ostracized infielder to New York

Yesterday at 02:59 PM

Right now the Yankees need an infielder to fill out the rest of their lineup, and the free agent market still has some attractive options. If they decide not to add through free agency, then the trade market is their likely route for adding an infielder, and one of the players who intrigue me most is Alec Bohm. He was a player who I found less valuable than most considered him to be, as he was a solid offensive player at best with firmly below-average defensive abilities. This past season however revealed some changes that I found to be not just productive, but potentially career-altering.

Based on the price tag the Phillies have placed on Bohm, I sense they share a similar opinion of recognizing that there were some real gains made to his game, but if they choose to deal him, the Yankees should be all over it. In this mock deal, the Phillies get what they’re looking for in some relievers to fill out a depleted bullpen while the Yankees land a much-needed infielder.

Phillies Improve Leaky Bullpen, Yankees Get Improving Infielder in Mock Trade

As mentioned earlier, Alec Bohm is someone who I was always more pessimistic of than the consensus, as he was a solid but not good offensive player who didn’t provide much with his glove or legs. Those kinds of players are often extremely limited in terms of their WAR value, and Bohm had a career-best WAR of 1.5 on FanGraphs through his first four MLB seasons. I don’t have any interest in the Yankees acquiring a bad defender who can barely cross the 100 wRC+ mark at the plate, but Alec Bohm displayed this past season that he’s made some impressive adjustments at the plate.

One of the biggest issues that Alec Bohm has had throughout his MLB career has come with his inability to generate game power, and while he wasn’t a “power hitter” last year, his .448 SLG% and .168 ISO are his best marks over a non-shortened season. With 44 doubles and 15 home runs, Bohm could punish opposing pitchers for mistakes over the heart of the plate, and he made those strides without seeing an increase in strikeout rate or chase rate. In fact, Bohm posted a career-best 14.2% strikeout rate and a 72nd Percentile SEAGER score, the second-best mark of his career.

READ MORE: The Yankees' perfect infield solution could shake free if they're patient

Alec Bohm took fewer hittable pitches than he did the year before and chased less; that’s an excellent sign for a hitter, as they were able to take advantage of pitchers missing their spot without being too vulnerable to expanding the zone. He finished in the 58th Percentile in Chase Rate this year while being in the 87th Percentile in Zone Contact Rate, so when pitchers usually beat him, they do so while allowing a ball in play which can leave the defense exposed to errors or at least move a runner over.

With a 115 wRC+ and .342 xwOBA, the Yankees would gladly take that kind of production from whoever they add in the infield, but the defensive improvements might be the most important reason for my shift in perception. With 0 DRS and +4 OAA across 1,096 innings at third base this season, Alec Bohm was a positive defender at the hot corner and would be an upgrade defensively over their infield last season as Jazz Chisholm would replace Gleyber Torres at second base. The Yankees value defense heavily, and with Bohm increasing his average throwing velocity by ~1 MPH, his value improved.

The Phillies have two more years of control of Alec Bohm and he’ll be 28 until August, meaning he’s a young non-rental player, and while you’d hope not to use them, having two MiLB options certainly doesn’t hurt either. He’s also owed $7.7 million, so he won’t be a massive hit to a team’s salary, but with the prices they’ve asked for of course the Yankees haven’t pulled the trigger on a trade here. They’ve asked for Mason Miller and Logan Gilbert in Bohm trade talks, but if they decide to be reasonable here, the Yankees do match up well with the Phillies in a potential trade.

READ MORE: Yankees will likely have to trade prospect to offload bad pitching contract

Carlos Estevez will likely sign somewhere else and Jeff Hoffman has already signed with the Blue Jays, so the Phillies have lost two of their best relievers in just one offseason. If Philadelphia looks to add to their bullpen, the Yankees could provide them with the kind of power pitching that they covet, and two of those names in this deal would be Jake Cousins and Clayton Beeter, who are controllable cheap bullpen weapons that can strike out plenty of bats.

Cousins was a surprise arm last season for the Yankees, putting up a 2.37 ERA and 34.2% K% across 37 outings out of the bullpen thanks to a wicked slider and better sinker command. He would be under control for four more seasons and still isn’t arbitration-eligible, giving the Phillies a much-needed weapon for their bullpen while not costing them much money at all. Furthermore, the addition of Beeter, a right-handed rookie with six years of control, could give the Phillies a future bullpen ace as he’s displayed an elite slider with an improved fastball when pitching in relief.

With the newfound funds, the Phillies could shop for someone like Ha-Seong Kim, who won’t be ready on Opening Day but will be later in the season and fills a direct need for a patient infielder. Philadelphia’s offense had plate discipline issues, and while Bohm has fixed some of them, he’s not the uber-patient hitter that Kim is, and he’s a less talented defensive player. Furthermore, Kim’s swing profiles much better for Citizen’s Bank Park than it did for Petco Park, so his power numbers could see an improvement if he signed in Philly.

I would love to see the Yankees sign HSK, but if they don’t this trade scenario could prove to be a viable alternative that gives them a clear improvement in the infield. They would have to replenish their bullpen a bit, but the addition of Tim Hill alongside a returning Jonathan Loaisiga would do the job pretty well. I also just think Matt Blake can make virtually any project player into a capable reliever, so I’m not really concerned if our bullpen depth is thinned out a bit.