Andrew McCutchen Potential Trade Fit: New York Yankees

Yankees Need

The New York Yankees are going for a youth movement, however, with a talented young core, they could use a veteran star to bring it all together.  Right now they are penciling in Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Aaron Judge.  Of the group, Judge has the highest upside.  He was a former first round pick who made his debut last year, and projects to be a number four type hitter. Outside of him you have two aging veterans.

Jacoby Ellsbury is a shell of his former self, and simply cannot be relied on as an impact bat at this point.  The former MVP is now 33 years old, and hit a lackluster .263 with a .703 OPS last season. He has been trending downward over the last few years, and he has not posted an OPS above .750 since 2013.  Ellsbury has been relatively healthy playing in 130+ games three of the last four years.  However, as most baseball fans know, the outfielder is relatively injury prone.

Then there is Brett Gardner, a nice complimentary player to any team.  Last off-season the Yankees fielded a lot of calls in regards to Gardner. Many thought the Yanks would move him for the right price.  This shows that the Yankees were willing to move Gardner. Garnder put up similar numbers as Ellsbury did, posting a .261 average and a mediocre .713 OPS.  They could look to move Gardner again.

Gardner is a solid role player, but like Ellsbury, he is aging and expendable.  What makes Gardner more likely to be moved is his price.  Garnder has only two more years remaining on his contract at a relatively doable rate of 24 million over those two years.  Compare this to Ellsbury, who is owed close to a 90 million over the next four seasons.  Ellsbury also has a no trade clause, making it even harder to move him.  In general, the Yankees could use a proven, impact outfield bat, and not two aging, weak hitting players.