Yankees not expected to pursuit 3x batting champion in a trade

Yesterday at 12:46 PM

Andy Martino of SNY reports that the New York Yankees are not expected to begin a pursuit of Luis Arraez on the trade market, a shocking revelation after Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that they continued dialogue with San Diego. The timeline for the Yankees’ interest per Martino would indicate that they checked in back in November, and haven’t held dialogue with New York since that point in time. He labeled the Yankees’ interest in Arraez as nothing more than exploratory, which is routine for New York early in their offseason as they feel out the market across the board.

The Yankees do not seem that interested in Arraez according to Martino, which would conflict with reports from both Jeff Passan and Robert Murray over the last week.

Luis Arraez Interest From the Yankees Is Overblown According to Andy Martino

After a swirl of rumors after Jeff Passan of ESPN linked the Yankees to Luis Arraez, reporting that they had “continued dialogue” with the Padres for the three-time batting champion, Andy Martino puts out a report that flies against it. He mentioned that the team did have a conversation with San Diego regarding Arraez, but labeled said interest as nothing more than exploratory and took place back in November.

The Yankees have a clear need for an infielder; DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera are their projected starters, an uninspiring duo of starters who wouldn’t satisfy their needs. After losing Juan Soto, there’s a very real need for more offense and on-base threats in this lineup, which Luis Arraez would satisfy, but it flies against what they’re trying to do on the defensive side of the ball.

Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt were imported not just for their fits at Yankee Stadium, but also for their defensive abilities in the outfield and infield.

READ MORE: Yankees' 3rd base trade target 'open minded' to waiving no-trade clause

If the Yankees shop for a cheaper option, Jorge Polanco and Brendan Rodgers are free agents who could fill their need in the infield and pair well with Oswaldo Cabrera in a platoon. While DJ LeMahieu is a suboptimal platoon partner, both Polanco and Rodgers can hit LHP at a pretty high level, and in the case of Polanco especially, his switch-hitting abilities would make him a pretty good starting candidate for their infield.

Rodgers and Polanco both have speed and range issues which could push them to third base, allowing Jazz Chisholm to slide over to second base in that scenario. The infield market is very barren after the trade of Gavin Lux to the Reds, but if the Yankees move Marcus Stroman’s $18.3 million deal, they might be able to shop for someone like Ha-Seong Kim, who won’t be ready for Opening Day but would definitely provide and elite glove with a solid bat.