Virtually everything is going right for the New York Yankees thus far this season. They have the best record in baseball at 49-21 entering play on Thursday. The team has received incredible performances from the pitching staff despite not having reigning Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole in the mix.
Offensively, the two favorites for the American League MVP, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, have been leading the way. The New York Yankees are also receiving strong seasons from Anthony Volpe and Giancarlo Stanton, giving them one of the toughest lineups to navigate in baseball.
However, there are areas that the team could look to upgrade ahead of the MLB trade deadline. The right side of their infield, second baseman Gleyber Torres and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, have been inconsistent.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic believes that the New York Yankees could be in the market for a slugging first baseman to replace Rizzo with. He mentioned both Pete Alonso of the New York Mets and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays as potential targets.
“The Yankees will monitor the right side of their infield between now and the trade deadline with hopes that both first baseman Anthony Rizzo and second baseman Gleyber Torres start producing at a higher rate,” wrote Bowden. “If they don’t, the Yankees will look at possible trade options. Depending on what teams fall out of the race, whether certain players sign contract extensions and other factors, impact players such as Pete Alonso or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. could become available at first base.”
It would be hard to envision the Blue Jays helping their division rival by sending them their best hitter. Guerrero has gotten on track in recent weeks after a slow start and would be a massive upgrade over Rizzo at this point.
The same reservations could be had by the Mets. Do they want to aid their crosstown rivals by sending their best power hitter to the Bronx from Queens?
In each instance, the Blue Jays and Mets would likely ask for more in return for their respective hitters than it may cost other teams. That is the price of doing business for the New York Yankees if they go to the top of the market looking for some help at first base.
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