The New York Yankees are one of the best teams in baseball this year, and will surely be buyers at the trade deadline.
The only question for the Yankees is how aggressive they are willing to be. They figure to get Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton back at some point, which will give their offense a huge boost. However, they could still use upgrades in some spots. Most notably, the Yankees could use help on the left side of the infield. Anthony Volpe and Ryan McMahon have not been great, but the fix at shortstop seems simple. They could just make José Caballero the starter once again.
Third base is a little more complicated. The Yankees could be on the hunt for an infielder, but McMahon's contract is not going anywhere. MLB insider Buster Olney thinks Luis Arraez would be the "perfect" player for the Yankees to add, but would it really make sense?
"To me, he's the PERFECT guy to add right in this moment."@Buster_ESPN on why the Yankees should trade for Luis Arráez | @880ESPNNewYork https://t.co/5gsnPsZeAr pic.twitter.com/r1dmvtCKrK
— ESPN Podcasts (@espnpodcasts) July 7, 2026
Arraez has always been known as a poor defender, but his bat is so elite that teams were willing to deal with it. However, this year he has a plus-10 outs above average at second base, ranking in the 99th percentile. On top of that, he has an .821 OPS, his best mark since 2023. Arraez is hitting .325 and is in contention to win his fourth career batting title. Only Otto Lopez has a better average than him entering play on Tuesday.
Arraez could slot in at second base, and the Yankees could move Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to third base. However, it does not solve the problem of what they would do with McMahon. He makes too much money to be on the bench, so they would likely have to find a trade partner for him and eat some money in the process.
He will be a free agent after the season, and the San Francisco Giants seem destined to be sellers. It does make sense for the Yankees to pursue him, but they will have to be willing to cut their losses with McMahon and move Chisholm back to third base. Arraez hitting in front of Judge would do wonders for the Yankees' offense and make the lineup very tough to navigate.