{"id":787385,"date":"2026-07-27T13:50:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/787385\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T13:50:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:50:10","slug":"yankees-trade-scenarios-bowden-weighs-proposals-for-mason-miller-cj-abrams-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/787385\/","title":{"rendered":"Yankees trade scenarios: Bowden weighs proposals for Mason Miller, CJ Abrams and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHILADELPHIA \u2014 The New York Yankees, unquestionably, will be buyers at this year\u2019s trade deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we want to try and improve our club,\u201d Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday, before an 11-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. \u201cI know the front office is grinding away at that, so I know we\u2019re going to try. You never know what\u2019s going to be out there. It always takes a couple teams to tango.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Yankees could use an upgrade at catcher, at least one more high-leverage reliever, and at least one more bat, in light of the injuries to Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As the team enters the final week before the Aug. 3 deadline, let\u2019s consider potential options to fill those needs. After proposing five hypothetical Yankees trades, we asked former general manager Jim Bowden to weigh in on them and determine which club would say no.<\/p>\n

How many players will the Mets trade by the deadline?<\/p>\n

Ken Rosenthal and Johnny Sweet<\/p>\n

Yankees get: RP Mason Miller Padres get: SP Will Warren, OF Jasson Dom\u00ednguez, SS Dax Kilby, SP Ben Hess <\/p>\n

Miller is one of MLB\u2019s elite game-changing players. When on the mound, he\u2019s as close as a pitcher can get to being an automatic three outs.<\/p>\n

Miller is under contract through 2029, and there\u2019s no guarantee San Diego Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller will trade him at the deadline. He might have to be blown away by a package to consider moving Miller.<\/p>\n

In this proposal, the Padres would receive two major leaguers, Warren and Dom\u00ednguez, and two prospects. Warren has the potential to be a mid-rotation starter, while Dom\u00ednguez has not yet lived up to his prospect hype. Kilby is one of the Yankees\u2019 best infield prospects, while Hess projects as a back-end starter with big strikeout numbers. \u2014 Kirschner<\/p>\n

Bowden: The Padres say no. <\/p>\n

I believe the Padres would reject this trade offer even though it\u2019s a solid proposal with four quality players in the return. Warren could go right into the Padres\u2019 rotation and Hess could be a fifth starter in a couple of years, while Dom\u00ednguez and Kilby have potential of being, at a minimum, quality everyday players.<\/p>\n

Kilby has perhaps the highest upside of this foursome. His inclusion in the deal makes it a strong, compelling offer worthy of serious consideration by San Diego. However, if I\u2019m the Padres, I would counter by asking for shortstop George Lombard Jr.<\/a> and right-hander Carlos Lagrange (pending medical reports<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Padres traded Leo De Vries, one of the top prospects in baseball, to land Miller last year from the Athletics, and although Lombard profiles as a potential future star, he\u2019s not quite at the level of De Vries. Lagrange, when healthy, has the ceiling of Miller, but it\u2019s far from certain he\u2019ll ever get there. I would try to get both for a proven impact player such as Miller who is under club control for three-plus years. \u2014 Bowden<\/p>\n

Yankees get: RP Adri\u00e1n Morej\u00f3n Padres get: SP Elmer Rodr\u00edguez, SP Bryce Cunningham <\/p>\n

We\u2019ll stick with San Diego for a second. The Padres\u2019 rotation has been a mess this season, ranking bottom five in fWAR and ERA. They need as much starting pitching as possible.<\/p>\n

Rodr\u00edguez likely projects as a back-end starter in the majors, while Cunningham has yet to fully put it together in the minors. Rodr\u00edguez has made four spot starts for the Yankees but hasn\u2019t looked impressive because his command wasn\u2019t crisp. That deviates from what he\u2019s known for. If his command is on, he can have success in the big leagues.<\/p>\n

The addition of Morej\u00f3n, an impending free agent, would give the Yankees a formidable back end of the bullpen with David Bednar closing games, Morej\u00f3n as the eighth-inning reliever and Brent Headrick and Fernando Cruz deployable in fireman roles. \u2014 Kirschner<\/p>\n

Bowden: Both teams say yes. <\/p>\n

The Yankees\u2019 bullpen has been solid, but adding Morej\u00f3n would make it more dominant and boost the team\u2019s postseason outlook and potential matchups, making its pen much deeper and stronger for a playoff run.<\/p>\n

The Padres need to rebuild their rotation, and acquiring two future back-of-the-rotation starters, each with six years of club control, for Morej\u00f3n, a two-month rental, should be a no-brainer, even though San Diego is still in the National League wild-card race. \u2014 Bowden<\/p>\n

Yankees get: SS CJ Abrams Nationals get: SP Will Warren, SP Elmer Rodr\u00edguez, SP Chase Hampton <\/p>\n

The Washington Nationals have already traded Curtis Mead to the Boston Red Sox<\/a> for left-hander Connelly Early. Still, they desperately need more pitching.<\/p>\n

This proposed move would give the Nats a ready-made starter (Warren) plus someone who would likely slot into their rotation now (Rodr\u00edguez). Hampton was a former top-10 prospect for the Yankees, but he underwent Tommy John surgery last year and has struggled in his first season back. Washington would hope to revitalize Hampton as he gets further removed from surgery.<\/p>\n

The Yankees, meanwhile, desperately need more offense. They have a bottom-five offense since Judge landed on the injured list in early June, and now Bellinger will miss time with a hamstring strain. Abrams, who is under contract through 2029, could play third base this season and move to second base next year. Second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. will be a free agent after this season, and Abrams could be an excellent replacement if the Yankees don\u2019t re-sign Chisholm. \u2014 Kirschner<\/p>\n

Bowden: The Nationals say no. <\/p>\n

Abrams is having another banner season, hitting .297 with 27 homers, 17 steals and an MLB-leading 82 RBIs. He\u2019s been worth 4.3 WAR, according to Baseball Reference. However, the Nationals haven\u2019t been able to extend him long-term, so they will at least listen to trade offers.<\/p>\n

That said, for the Yankees to even get in the ballpark in a deal for Abrams, they would have to start the conversation by offering Lombard, then adding Warren. That is probably along the lines of what it would take for Washington to even consider trading the two-time All-Star to the Bronx. \u2014 Bowden<\/p>\n

Yankees get: C Ryan Jeffers Twins get: SS Anthony Volpe, RP Camilo Doval\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Ryan Jeffers would give the Yankees more consistent offense from the catcher position. (Jason Miller \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Yankees catcher Austin Wells has swung the bat better over the past two weeks, but the club remains in the market for an offensive upgrade.<\/p>\n

Jeffers is the most logical catching target for the Yankees because of his relationship with Tanner Swanson<\/a>, the club\u2019s director of catching. Swanson was a key figure in the Minnesota Twins\u2019 decision to draft Jeffers in 2018. Jeffers will be a free agent after this season, so this move would also give the Yankees a stretch run to determine if he could also be a longer-term fit.<\/p>\n

In return, the Twins would get two change-of-scenery candidates in Volpe and Doval. It appears Volpe\u2019s time with the Yankees might be running out, with the imminent promotion of Lombard, and Doval has been reduced to a low-leverage role in the bullpen. Doval, an All-Star in 2023, is under club control through next year, so maybe the Twins could revive him. \u2014 Kirschner<\/p>\n

Bowden: Both sides say yes. <\/p>\n

The Yankees need more offense, especially from the right side of the plate, and Jeffers would be a perfect fit for them. After missing about two months with a hamate bone fracture, he\u2019s healthy and has posted a .930 OPS this season, with nine homers in 157 at-bats.<\/p>\n

Volpe, 25, needs a change of scenery, and with more than two years of remaining club control, it\u2019s a risk worth taking for the Twins, especially considering Jeffers is an impending free agent. From the Yankees\u2019 standpoint, Lombard is ready for a promotion to replace Volpe, and they would still have Jos\u00e9 Caballero as an option at shortstop.<\/p>\n

In addition, the Twins have identified relievers as their biggest need at the trade deadline, so taking a chance on Doval makes a lot of sense for them, as he might have a better chance to excel in a smaller market. Bottom line: I think this trade, conceptually, works for both sides. \u2014 Bowden<\/p>\n

Yankees get: OF Lane Thomas Royals get: OF Jace Avina, RHP Eric Reyzelman <\/p>\n

The Yankees made a similar move at last season\u2019s trade deadline when they acquired Austin Slater from the Chicago White Sox. Like Slater, Thomas is a platoon bat who hits left-handed pitching well. The Yankees could use a righty-hitting outfielder off their bench. Thomas will be a free agent after this season, so the price to land him should not be too steep.<\/p>\n

Avina and Reyzelman are ranked as the club\u2019s 20th and 28th top prospects, respectively, by MLB Pipeline. They are Rule 5 draft-eligible after this season, and neither player likely has a path to making the Yankees\u2019 40-man roster. \u2014 Kirschner<\/p>\n

Bowden: Both sides say yes. <\/p>\n

I really like this trade for the Yankees because Thomas rakes against left-handed pitching (career OPS against them: .850) and can play all three outfield positions. He is a fourth outfielder and platoon-type, making him a good fit on this team.<\/p>\n

This would be an overpay for the Yankees; I think Avina straight-up would be a fair deal. However, it\u2019s a sellers\u2019 market, so teams will have to overpay at this deadline, and getting Reyzelman included makes it easy for the Royals to close the deal. \u2014 Bowden<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHILADELPHIA \u2014 The New York Yankees, unquestionably, will be buyers at this year\u2019s trade deadline. \u201cI know we…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":787386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,369,99],"class_list":["post-787385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=787385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}