Yankees' Heliot Ramos is a Blatantly Obvious Trade Candidate

The New York Yankees were desperate for a right-handed bat back at the MLB trade deadline with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton sidelined, so they went out and swung a trade for Heliot Ramos.

It was a deal that never really landed.

Ramos slashed .198/.309/.379 with four home runs and 12 RBI over 136 plate appearances with the Yankees, and while his increased walk rate was nice, his lack of hits was the real story.

On the campaign overall, Ramos slashed .245/.305/.411 with 13 homers and 46 RBI across 442 trips to the dish. His .716 OPS was his lowest since becoming a full-time player with the San Francisco Giants in 2024.

With Judge returning next season and the Yankees also having Cody Bellinger and Spencer Jones in the outfield, there really isn't much room for Ramos.

Typically, you want your fourth outfielder being a good defender. That is certainly not Ramos, as evidenced by his minus-10 outs above average in 2026.

Not only that, but Ramos only really hits left-handers. Who is he going to platoon with? Judge is a righty bat. Bellinger is a lefty, but with reverse splits. Jones had zero issues against southpaws during his rookie campaign.

The 27-year-old is under club control through 2029, so New York doesn't have to be in any rush to move him ... but why not trade him now?

Other clubs around the league probably view Ramos as a starter. The Yankees cannot because of their current outfield situation. So maybe Brian Cashman can convince another team to part with something decent in exchange for him?

The problem is that New York gave up a really good pitching prospect in Henry Lalane to acquire Ramos, so the Yanks may not be able to get equal value in return. If Cashman is okay with that, Ramos should go.

There is always the chance that the Yankees enter the season with Ramos and adjust from there, but again, Ramos probably wouldn't get a ton of playing time. It doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to keep him.

New York should be seeking a fine defensive outfielder who can spell Judge when he DHs, or possibly move Jones over to right and get someone who can play center field for that particular scenario.

Ramos does not fit that bill.

It would be surprising if the Yankees didn't at least try to entertain trade interest in Ramos in the coming months.