One player the New York Yankees acquired at the MLB trade deadline will be an obvious trade candidate during the offseason.
The New York Yankees acquired a couple of bats at the MLB trade deadline, and positionally speaking, both of them were rather odd fits.
The Yankees landed first baseman Luis Garcia Jr. in a deal with the Washington Nationals, and they also bagged outfielder Heliot Ramos in a pact with the San Francisco Giants.
With Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger all currently sidelined, New York desperately needed offense, so the moves made sense in a vacuum.
But what will the Yankees do once everyone gets healthy?
New York will probably be able to find at-bats for Garcia, who owns a .279/.311/.551 slash line with 24 home runs and 78 RBI this season while also mashing right-handed pitchers to the tune of a .914 OPS.
But when it comes to Ramos, things get a bit more complicated.
For starters, Ramos is a terrible defender, and he is incapable of playing center field. We know that Judge and Bellinger will own the corners once they get back. Trent Grisham will man center. Where does that leave Ramos?
New York Yankees outfielder Heliot Ramos. Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images.Typically, you want your fourth outfielder to have a good glove. That is not Ramos. You also can't exactly platoon him with Bellinger, because Bellinger hits lefties incredibly well (which is where Ramos excels).
And unlike Garcia, who also isn't the most adept fielder in the world, Ramos doesn't have a good enough bat where you would absolutely want to find room for him.
Ramos owns a .716 OPS this year. He lays claim to a lifetime .255/.316/.417 slash line. Yes, he hits southpaws well, but so what?
In any case, the 26-year-old already seems like a clear trade candidate for the Yankees heading into the offseason.
New York likely won't be re-signing Grisham, but that won't do Ramos any good. Again, he can't play center field, and the Yankees may want to put Spencer Jones out there on a full-time basis in 2027 (or add a center fielder via free agency or trade).
Ramos would certainly have value to other teams. He is a former first-round pick who is under club control through 2029, and his career .840 OPS against lefties is certainly enticing. Especially to a team searching for a platoon bat.
Would the Yankees reap an incredible return for Ramos? No, but they may be able to flip him for a better price than what they paid before the deadline.
It seems hard to imagine Ramos having a place in the Bronx next spring ... or once everyone gets healthy later this season.
