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Aaron Boone after being thrown out of a game against the Mariners.
The New York Yankees have some work to do in the infield and the bullpen at this year’s trade deadline.
They reached the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024, but it was easy to see New York was overmatched, lacking their opponents’ star power, outside of Aaron Judge.
Third base is an area of need if manager Aaron Boone wants Jazz Chisholm Jr. to play his natural position at second base. If Chisholm stays at third, an upgrade at second base becomes the priority, in all likelihood.
The Atlanta Braves Should Be Sellers
The Atlanta Braves started Thursday six and a half games back of a National League Wild Card spot. Their season has not gone the way the front office or the fans hoped.
Naturally, that makes the Braves strong candidates to trade one or a few of their better players.
“The Atlanta Braves started the season without Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider. Without the two superstars on the field, the Braves struggled to start the season,” Clutch Points’ Zachary Howell wrote Wednesday. “Even now that they are back, Atlanta has failed to turn their season around so far. Ozzie Albies is one of many players having a down offensive year.”
In 79 games in 2025, Albies is hitting .224/.298/.326 with six home runs and a .624 OPS. He hit 33 home runs in 148 games just two seasons ago. The three-time All-Star won a World Series with the Braves in 2021.
The Trade Idea
In Howell’s trade proposal between the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves, New York acquires Albies in exchange for second baseman DJ LeMahieu and middle infield prospect Roderick Arias, who is ranked as the Yankees’ fifth-best prospect by MLB Pipeline.
“Albies’ exit would be a tough pill to swallow for Atlanta,” wrote Howell. “However, getting one of the Yankees’ top prospects in return would be a good way to sell it to the Braves’ fan base. However, this trade requires Atlanta to believe that they are out of the National League playoff picture.”
The biggest problem Braves fans might have with this trade is that Arias is still a few years away from making his Major League debut, while LeMahieu is having a worse offensive season than Albies, albeit in 44 fewer games.
Will Albies Improve at the Plate?
A lot of the New York Yankees’ recent offensive woes stem from stranding runners in scoring position. Albies is performing better in scoring situations than when there are no runners on base, hitting .273 with a .726 OPS this season. Twenty-one of his 28 RBIs were recorded with runners in scoring position.
“If Albies’ numbers don’t improve, his slashing numbers will all be career lows. While a lot of his issues at the plate cannot be excused, many of them could be attributed to the additional pressure he was under at the beginning of the season,” wrote Howell. “Since moving down in the order, he has played better.”
Perhaps less pressure to perform and a winning environment in New York could help break Albies out of his rut.
Conor Liguori is a sports journalist covering the MLB for Heavy Sports. Conor has covered professional baseball leagues like the KBO, NPB, CPBL, and the LBPRC in Puerto Rico. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Connecticut State University. More about Conor Liguori
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