Yankees Could Trade for Former Top Pick to Solve Glaring Problem

The New York Yankees need serious help at third base. Everyone knows it, and while Brian Cashman played it coy when asked about it at the GM meetings, we can probably take anything he says publicly right now with a grain of salt.

While would Cashman surrender his leverage by telling the world that the Yankees desperately want a third baseman?

The idea is to bring in an upgrade at the hot corner while also dumping Ryan McMahon, which will obviously be a tall task even if New York eats some of McMahon's salary. But it has to be done if the Yankees want to contend for a World Series next season.

We've heard multiple options floated as possibilities for New York. Teruaki Sato. Josh Jung. Ketel Marte. And now, another name keeps surfacing in trade speculation: Minnesota Twins infielder Royce Lewis.

To say that Lewis has been a massive disappointment in the big leagues would be putting it lightly.

The Twins selected Lewis with the No. 1 overall pick back in 2017, and within two years, he was ranked as a top-10 prospect in of baseball.

Then, the wheels came off.

Lewis posted a .661 OPS in Minnesota's minor-league system in 2019. He then tore his ACL twice in 2021 and 2022, which represented a humongous setback.

He hasn't been the same since, and since entering the big leagues in late 2022, he has posted a .246/.302/.429 slash line. Lewis did display tremendous potential in 2023, finishing with a .921 OPS over 239 plate appearances, but he has tanked the last three seasons.

So, why would the Yankees want him, especially when you consider that he isn't even that great defensively and spent more time at first base than he did at third in 2026?

Well, Lewis is under team control through 2028, and New York loves affordable club-controlled talent. He could probably be had for a bargain price, and he is still just 27 years old with room to improve given a change of scenery.

Would he be my first choice? Absolutely not. He wouldn't be my second or third choice, either, but he might represent one of the more realistic possibilities for the Yankees in the coming weeks.

The Twins are almost surely ready to part with Lewis, and New York has a deep enough farm system where it could entice Minnesota with a trade offer.

It would not be the least bit surprising to hear the Yankees pursuing Lewis as the offseason progresses, especially given how thin the free-agent market is at third base.