The New York Yankees are, as usual, poised to be major buyers ahead of MLB’s August 3 trade deadline, and one position continues to stand out as their biggest area in need of addressing: catcher.
Austin Wells has dealt with injury and struggled mightily when in the lineup, while his backups — J.C. Escarra and Ali Sanchez — have done far from enough to solve the situation.
As a result, we can expect the Yankees to be aggressive in the catcher market, and the name that’s drawn plenty of buzz lately is Colorado Rockies star Hunter Goodman. ESPN insider Jorge Castillo recently confirmed that Colorado and New York have previously held trade talks centered around the two-time All-Star.
“The Yankees need a catcher. With Austin Wells, J.C. Escarra and Ali Sanchez, Yankees catchers rank last in baseball in OPS and wRC+. It is the most glaring weakness on the roster. There are two obvious potential upgrades via trade: Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins and Hunter Goodman, the Colorado Rockies’ lone All-Star.
The Yankees prefer to acquire players at the deadline who aren’t just short-term additions. They have called on Goodman, though not recently, a source told ESPN,”
This comes just days after fellow insider Bob Nightengale reported:
“The Yankees are making it no secret that they want to acquire catcher Hunter Goodman of the Rockies or Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers.”
The 26-year-old Goodman is currently playing on a one-year, $810,000 contract with the Rockies and is under team control through 2029, with arbitration eligibility in 2027 and 2028. He’s crushed 27 home runs, driven in 51 runs, and is hitting .254 through 90 games played this season.
Nightengale went on to say that Colorado plans to keep Goodman, though given the current state of the team in the midst of a lengthy rebuild, it shouldn’t be ruled out whatsoever.
That will especially be the case if Brian Cashman and the Yankees pony up with a significant offer, which, by the sounds of it, may be what they’re gearing up to do in the coming weeks.
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