New York Yankees' Latest Trade Intel Will Make Your Head Spin

Back at the MLB trade deadline, the New York Yankees were considering pursuing an upgrade at catcher, but the price tag was exorbitant.

One name the Yankees pursued was Adley Rutschman, who was playing for the Baltimore Orioles at the time and was eventually traded to the Boston Red Sox for a gargantuan package.

But apparently, New York had the opportunity to acquire Rutschman first.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post has revealed that the Yankees and Orioles were discussing a package that included Austin Wells, Elmer Rodriguez, one of Ryan Weathers or Will Warren plus rising outfield prospect Yostin Pena.

The Yankees refused to include Pena in the package, and when the Red Sox came along with their offer, Baltimore gave New York one final chance to top it, but the Yanks understandably bowed out.

That would have been far too much to surrender for Rutschman, a good — not great — player who struggled in Boston this season.

Wells and Rodriguez would have been a fair starting point, but the inclusion of one of Weathers or Warren plus Pena would have been overkill.

Pena isn't exactly a household name just yet, but pretty soon, he will be.

The 18-year-old slashed .354/.431/.608 with 14 home runs and 80 RBI over 283 plate appearances between Rookie Ball and Single-A Tampa in 2026, adding 37 stolen bases.

Pena has quickly developed into one of the best prospects within the Yankees' organization, and you will surely see his name begin to ascend top-100 lists soon.

Rutschman, meanwhile, slashed .242/.315/.426 with 13 homers and 60 RBI across 410 trips to the dish overall this year. He dealt with some injury issues, but even when he was healthy, he was merely decent.

In 32 games with the Red Sox, the 28-year-old managed a .688 OPS, so it wasn't like be brought much to the table in Beantown.

It's also worth noting that Rutschman's bat has declined considerably since his first couple of big-league seasons. After posting OPSes of .806 and .809 in 2022 and 2023, he has registered OPSes of .709, .673 and .740 since.

Plus, Rutschman is slated to hit free agency after next season, so the 28-year-old will be due for a big contract soon.

We'll see if the Yankees revisit their catching situation this winter with Ryan Jeffers available in free agency, but based on how much they like Wells, it seems unlikely they will splurge at the position.