Bullet point summary by AI
- The New York Yankees need outfield help after a wave of injuries, making Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell a highly logical and aggressive trade target.
- The 27-year-old Adell is under team control through 2028, has improved his strikeout rate, and brings durable, daily reliability to a fractured lineup.
- Acquiring a young, affordable bat stabilizes the outfield without overcommitting to massive, long-term blockbusters during a high-stakes pennant race.
So long as you’re in decent physical shape, the New York Yankees might just have an outfield spot for you. Trent Grisham is the latest Yankees outfielder to hit the injured list, courtesy of a hamstring injury suffered on Friday night. He joins Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, the latter of whom suffered a setback while recovering from a calf problem.
Cody Bellinger is the last remaining healthy member of the Yankees’ Opening Day outfield. Depending on how long Grisham is out, Bellinger may also be the only one with a realistic chance at playing 100 games.
For the Yankees to best weather this newest storm, it’s time to get aggressive and call up the dreadful Angels for some outfield help—and, no, we’re not talking about Mike Trout.
The Yankees must explore the possibility of a Jo Adell trade
Saturday’s Yankees lineup featured the outfield trio of Bellinger, Spencer Jones, and Jasson Domínguez. With respect to the latter two, that’s not a group I’d feel comfortable running out there every day.
(And, as I was writing this, Domínguez hit a home run. Seriously.)
Although Adell played more than half his games in center field last year, he’s a natural right fielder. That’d certainly make things easier on Domínguez and Jones.
The obvious counter to an Adell trade is that his OPS and walk rate are both down significantly from last year. However, he’s notably improved his strikeout rate, and he’s also been a mainstay in the Angels’ lineup.
Simply having someone they can rely on to play every day should be a bare minimum for the Yankees, especially given Domínguez’s extensive injury history.
Normally, I’d be against a boom-or-bust bat like Adell, but it doesn’t make sense for the Yankees to make a blockbuster outfield addition. Even if they plan on letting Grisham walk in the offseason, what is the benefit of trading for a big name on a multi-year deal?
We’re not even talking about someone like Trout, who almost certainly won’t accept a trade anywhere. If you’re the Yankees, you should be targeting a rental or an affordable player with multiple years of team control left.
Adell just turned 27, and he is under team control through 2028. Consider those boxes checked.
The real kicker would be if the Yankees could somehow convince the Angels to include Reid Detmers in an Adell trade, too, but that’s another conversation entirely.
Hamstring injuries are tricky, and there are enough examples of the Yankees either misjudging an injury timeline or outright lying, so it’s not hyperbole to suggest it’s impossible to predict when Grisham will be back.
Then again, if Domínguez keeps finding ways to shut me up, then the Yankees may not need Grisham, after all.
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