2025 is finally here, and Opening Day is less than three months away. The Yankees have had a whirlwind offseason so far, but even with the additions of Devin Williams, Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt, there are still holes that need to be filled—namely, who will play either second or third base still remains to be seen.
It was fairly obvious that the team wouldn’t retain Gleyber Torres when they didn’t extend the qualifying offer to him. As of now, the presumptive final starting infielder would either be DJ LeMahieu or Oswaldo Cabrera—two weak options for a team looking to compete for a World Series this year. Jack Curry already reported that the Yankees were not in on Alex Bregman—the top infielder left in free agency—or Nolan Arenado, another third base option. That means the Yankees will either sign Ha-Seong Kim, a glove-first infielder that isn’t an offensive threat, or look to trade for an infielder.
One under-the-radar trade the Yankees could make is acquiring Michael Massey from the Royals. Kansas City acquired Jonathan India from Cincinnati, creating something of a quagmire at second base. Both players have floated the idea of playing left field for Kansas City, but India is not exactly a defensive wiz and has little experience in the outfield, while Massey has only played a game at third and an inning in center field under his belt. The Royals could try and rotate both players into the DH spot, but with Salvador Perez presumably taking up a lot of DH innings, it may make sense for the Royals to try and trade Massey. Massey has expressed his dislike for being a DH, anyway.
Massey, who will be 27 when the season starts, will be arbitration eligible after this year. A lefty, he’s a fly-ball hitter (he has a 31.6 percent fly-ball rate, compared to the 23.8 percent MLB average). He’s also a pull hitter (51.5 percent, compared to an MLB average of 37.2 percent). It’d be a bit glib to automatically assume that any lefty-pull hitters who hit fly balls will always see a jump in home runs at Yankee Stadium, though Statcast says he would have hit 20 home runs last year if his home stadium was in the Bronx rather than Kansas City.
Massey only hit 14 homers last year, but he definitely has some pop, posting a .190 ISO. He cut down on his strikeouts, improving to 15.7 percent from 21.5 percent in 2023. He makes good contact and rarely whiffs, sporting a 17.9 whiff percentage. His .294 OBP leaves something to be desired, but he was still an above-average hitter last year with a 102 wRC+ and a .743 OPS. He hits lefties and righties relatively equally. In the postseason, he performed well, small sample size notwithstanding. He hit .305 with a .795 OPS in 23 at-bats.
Massey can field his position as well, garnering 4 OAA last year. He only made three errors in 82 games, with his season punctuated by IL stints for a nagging back injury. He certainly passes the eye test. One drawback is his lack of defensive versatility, but with both Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. able to play both outfield and infield, with Cabrera on the bench, the Yankees can afford a second base-only player.
The Royals are said to be seeking a middle-of-the-order bat, which is obviously something the Yankees could use as well. The Yankees also have a potential surplus in their bullpen after the additions of Devin Williams and Fernando Cruz. The Royals had an excellent pitching staff last year but could use some help in the bullpen—perhaps the two sides could strike a deal where each sides deals from a strength.
Trading for Massey would be an under-the-radar move that improves the current state of the team—while it’s not the most attractive option, it’s certainly one that merits consideration, especially given Massey’s long-term control. If the Yankees are to go the trade route, they should give Kansas City a call.
