Yankees' pursuit of upgrade at third base, other positions intensifies as deadline nears
Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez gets a glove on an infield single hit by the Houston Astros' Chas McCormick during the ninth inning of a game on Monday in Phoenix. Credit: AP/Ross D. Franklin
TORONTO – For some reason, the Yankees actively pursuing a third baseman keeps getting treated as news.
The truth is, as those inside and outside the organization repeatedly say, that pursuit began during last December’s winter meetings in Dallas.
And that pursuit continued into, and throughout, spring training and never really let up.
“They made it pretty evident then [in December] it was an area of need,” one rival executive said.
The Yankees have had scouts fanned out all over the big leagues in recent weeks looking at potential answers for their three biggest needs before the July 31 trade deadline. Those needs are – with none of the three any more or less significant than the others – rotation depth, a back-end-of-the-bullpen arm and, of course, an upgrade at third base.
According to a cross-section of opposing team talent evaluators, the Yankees currently have, or recently have had, their pro scouts covering a lengthy list of teams this month, including the Twins, Pirates, Orioles, Guardians, Diamondbacks, Reds, Braves, Rockies and Mets.
Yes, the Mets, whom the Yankees have had one of their pro scouts on in Queens since the second half started last Friday. The Mets have a glut of third basemen, including Mark Vientos, Brett Baty and Ronnie Mauricio, though that is a position they’re reportedly also looking to improve on when it comes to their deadline needs.
The consensus No. 1 third base target for contenders is Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez, who is a relatively weak defender but who also had an NL-leading 36 home runs entering Tuesday. The Yankees had a pro scout in attendance last weekend in Phoenix when Suarez hit two home runs in each of the Diamondbacks’ victories Saturday and Sunday over the Cardinals (Arizona also has a pair of walk-year starters, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, who could be available).
The Yankees have been regularly scouting the penny-pinching Pirates, whose entire roster other than Paul Skenes is seemingly for sale, a group that includes third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and utility man Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a Yankee in 2022 and ’23. Their scouts have been on the Rockies primarily to see their third baseman, Ryan McMahon. The Orioles have Ramon Urias at third.
“He’s obviously having a great year,” Aaron Boone said of Suarez, 34. “He’s been a really good power hitter in the league for a long time, so I’m sure he’s going to be talked about by a lot of teams.”
Yankees scouts, as mentioned, are not just looking at third base. The Yankees recently had two of their scouts simultaneously on the Twins, who have plenty of pitching that could be available, including starter Joe Ryan and relievers Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Danny Coulombe, Louie Varland and Justin Topa, among others.
And the Yankees assigned a scout coming out of the All-Star break to the bullpen-rich Guardians, whose stable includes Cade Smith, Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, Kolby Allard, Jakob Junis and Joey Cantillo. Smith and Clase are the least likely – though nothing can be deemed impossible – of the group to be dealt as Smith won’t be a free agent until 2030 and Clase is under team control through 2028.
“Not a ton, honestly,” Boone said of how involved he is in talking to Cashman about the deadline and any possible acquisitions. “I check in and we’ll get asked about different players out there … but right now that’s more the front office having those conversations with other teams – who’s available, who’s not, and that continues to evolve kind of a daily basis. As you get closer more teams that are in or out, you don’t know. Seems quiet right now, it seems slow right now, but you never know what happens as the days unfold.”
Gil getting closer
Righthander Luis Gil, who started the season on the injured list with right lat strain, is slated to make his third rehab appearance, this one with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, on Wednesday. The Yankees will then make a decision whether to give Gil, scheduled to throw around 65 pitches on Wednesday after throwing 57 in his previous rehab start with Double-A Somerset, a fourth rehab outing or have him continue to build up his pitch count in the big leagues.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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