Around the AL East: Yankees Trade Rumors

Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The AL East will always be one of the most competitive divisions in all of baseball. Each year, the five AL East teams enter the season renewed and reloaded. And the Baltimore Orioles’ rival, the New York Yankees may be in the midst of making a blockbuster trade.

With “The Captain” Derek Jeter gone, the Yankees need to fill the void that No. 2 left. In a three-team trade earlier this month, the Yankees acquired shortstop Didi Gregorius from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In 2014, Gregorius  batted .226/.290/.363 with 20 extra base hits and 27 RBI in 80 games played with the Diamondbacks.

However, just 17 days after adding Gregorius, rumors say the Yankees are still searching for that “game-changing” shortstop.

On Monday, December 22nd, reports flew in that the Yankees were in talks with the Colorado Rockies regarding their All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

Tulowitzki is entering his 10th year in the Majors. In his first nine years, Tulowitzki earned two Gold Glove Awards, two Silver Slugger Awards, and he was named to the National League All-Star team four different times.

During the 2014 season, Tulowitzki batted .340/.432/.603 with 18 doubles, 21 home runs, and 52 RBI. He also owned a .990 fielding percentage with 59 double plays turned and just four errors all season.

In simple terms, Tulowitzki is a solid player. He does not have many weaknesses and rarely makes a mistake when he steps out onto the field. Tulowitzki is that game-changing shortstop the Yankees are in desperate need of in the post-Jeter era.

There are two issues with trading for him: age and price.

Some would argue that age is a factor when it comes to trading for Tulowitzki. The star player is 30 years old. And for the Yankees, who is often considered a team which lacks youth,  that may be too old.

If the Yankees picked up Tulowitzki’s contract, they would pay him $118 million over the next six years with a team option in 2021. That would put him at 37 years old after the 2021 regular season. The Yankees need a shortstop with a future, not a past.

In addition, the Yankees need to consider what they must give up in order to bring Tulowitzki to the Bronx.

One proposed trade had the Yankees giving the Rockies Gregorius and their top two prospects, right-handed pitcher Luis Severino and catcher Gary Sanchez.

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It comes back to age again. In a desperate need to add youth to the ball club, would it really be smart for the Yankees to give up their top two prospects who are within two years of breaking into the Majors? I think not.

If the Yankees were smart, they would keep trusting their system and stick with the players they have. There is no need to flush your farm system for a player whose stats may start declining in the next 3-4 years. The Yankees have control of Gregorius’ contract over the next four years and they should try to stick with him as their everyday shortstop moving forward in 2015.