The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline.

Giants get: SS Kaeden Kent, LHP Henry Lalane

Yankees get: OF Heliot Ramos

Yankees need offense, and so they pay what they have to

Giants: A-
Yankees: C

Heliot Ramos can be a bit of a frustrating player. When he hits the ball, he hits it hard, with expected outcomes that exceed the majority of big league players.

The issue is that he doesn’t hit it often enough. The 26-year-old outfielder strikes out too much, hardly walks and isn’t a great defender. But the Yankees need offense. They rank in the bottom half of baseball in OPS and hits, and are outside the top 10 in runs scored. Their current lineup is missing Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger.

The Yankees are giving up two of their top 13 prospects, including 22-year-old lefty pitcher Henry Lalane and Kaeden Kent, son of recent Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Kent. That’s a steep price for Ramos, who has posted just 3.6 career WAR since first getting called up in 2022.

There is immense pressure in New York on general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone, who have largely led the Yankees to success, but not at the level required to avoid severe scrutiny. This feels like almost too steep a price for Ramos, who won’t be a free agent until 2030.

But the Yankees are doing what they can to complement a very good rotation and give themselves a shot at winning the American League East, and ultimately make a deep postseason run. — Sam Blum

Yankees get a bit more balanced with Ramos addition

Giants: A-
Yankees: B 

In Ramos, the lefty-heavy Yankees get a right-handed hitter who’s a proven threat against lefties. Ramos, who turns 27 next month, has a .279/.345/.501 career slash line against lefties.

He’s played all three outfield positions, though the vast majority of his games have been in left field. An All-Star in 2024, Ramos is not eligible for free agency until after the 2029 season.

Ramos — whose first name is pronounced “Elliott” — has his flaws; he strikes out a lot and his on-base percentage is just .304 this season. But he should get plenty of playing time with outfielders Judge and Bellinger on the injured list, and when (if) the Yankees are fully healthy, Boone should be able to deploy him more selectively, as a thumper against lefties.

Ramos missed six weeks with a quad strain, but he’s played regularly since returning at the end of June.

In Lalane, the Giants get a 22-year-old, Bronx-born lefty (with a really cool name) and some very nice stats this season: a 2.77 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 78 innings at two A-ball levels.

They also get Jeff Kent’s son, Kaeden, a third-round pick from Texas A&M in 2025 and a lefty hitter who’s had a very good season in his second visit to high-Class A Hudson Valley this season.

That’s a very strong return for a player with limited upside like Ramos. But the Yankees definitely needed him, so they were willing to pay the price. — Tyler Kepner