{"id":337594,"date":"2026-07-12T12:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T12:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/337594\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T12:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T12:37:14","slug":"mlb-rumors-new-york-yankees-tampa-bay-rays-scouting-same-trade-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/337594\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB Rumors: New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays Scouting Same Trade Target"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Yankees<\/a> will enter the All-Star break leading the American League Wild Card race, still holding a shot at winning the division despite a summer slump and a plethora of injuries. Unfortunately for New York, it appears the AL East crown won\u2019t be the only thing they are competing with the Tampa Bay Rays<\/a> for.<\/p>\n

LaVelle E. Neal of the Star Tribune<\/a> shared that the Yankees had a scout in attendance to watch Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers in his first game back off the injured list. In addition, Darren Wolfson<\/a> of KSTP\u2019s 5 Eye Witness News reported that the Rays also had \u201cscouting representation\u201d at the game.<\/p>\n

Related: Jeff Passan Names Best Trade Target for New York Yankees<\/a><\/p>\n

Jeffers, age 29, returned to action for the first time since he suffered a fractured hamate bone on May 18 versus the Houston Astros. After hitting two home runs during his minor-league rehab assignment this past week, Jeffers\u2019 return to the Twins\u2019 lineup saw him go 1-for-4 with a double and a walk.<\/p>\n

There is a reason why Tampa Bay and New York are both scouting Jeffers. Entering play on Saturday, Yankees catchers ranked 23rd in FanGraphs<\/a> Wins Above Replacement (0.3) with the second-worst OPS (.524), while Tampa Bay ranked 20th (0.7 fWAR) and 16th (.657), respectively.<\/p>\n

The Twins could theoretically keep Jeffers past the MLB trade deadline. He was delivering All-Star-caliber production at the plate prior to his injury and has been a steady presence in the lineup for several years now. On an expiring deal, Minnesota could offer him a qualifying offer and, if he declines it, take a compensatory pick in the 2027 MLB Draft.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0New York Yankees Trade Targets<\/a><\/p>\n

However, that carries its own risk. The looming MLB lockout could impact Jeffers\u2019 market and the timing of when he signs in MLB free agency. Furthermore, rejecting the qualifying offer would limit the number of teams who pursued him on the open market this winter, or he could accept it, return to Minnesota, and then struggle next year.<\/p>\n

While in-season catcher trades are rare, Jeffers\u2019 impact bat as a half-season rental could make him an exception this summer. Plus, considering all of the buzz around baseball connecting him to New York, it certainly seems like many around the league believe there\u2019s a real chance of the Twins\u2019 backstop being dealt.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tMatt Johnson is Senior Editor of NFL and College Football for Sportsnaut. His work, including weekly NFL and college … More about Matt Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Yankees will enter the All-Star break leading the American League Wild Card race, still holding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337595,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3821,135,3815,137,136],"class_list":["post-337594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-rays","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}