The New York Yankees accomplished their primary goal this offseason when they were able to re-sign Aaron Judge during the 2022 Winter Meetings. But now that they have Judge back on board, it’s time for them to make some serious upgrades to the rest of the roster around him in an attempt to get themselves back to the World Series.
Even with Judge, there are some holes on New York’s roster that ended up destroying them in the 2022 season. And despite the fact that they brought back their best player in Judge, that hasn’t exactly made the Yanks better than they were last season. The holes they had last season still exist, and now is the time to find solutions for them.
One area that needs to be fixed up a bit is the Yankees outfield depth alongside Judge, which is why Bryan Reynolds’ trade request off of the Pittsburgh Pirates could not have come at a better time for New York. With the Yanks sniffing around Reynolds to see if Pittsburgh is willing to move him, let’s take a look at the perfect trade offer New York could make to land the talented outfielder.
Yankees get: OF Bryan Reynolds
Pirates get: SS Oswald Peraza, OF Everson Pereira, RHP Clayton Beeter
Right off the bat, this may seem like a bit of an overpay for the Yankees, and maybe it is. But they aren’t going to get the Pirates to move Reynolds unless they send a truly fantastic offer Pittsburgh’s way, as they have shown no intention of moving Reynolds for less than what they feel he is worth simply because he has requested a trade. That may force the Yankees hand a bit, because they need to add Reynolds.
Reynolds is easily the best player on a currently desolate Pirates roster, and is coming off another strong season in 2022 (.262 BA, 27 HR, 62 RBI, .807 OPS). Reynolds is a switch-hitter at the plate, and can play solid defense at each spot in the outfield. Given his talent, it’s not surprising to see that he wants to join a winning squad and get off the constantly rebuilding Pirates.
Even though he requested a trade, Pittsburgh still has a decent amount of leverage here. Reynolds is going to be 28 next season, and is under team control through the 2025 season. They have come out saying they have no intention of trading Reynolds, which is really the only logical way to handle a trade request, regardless of whether or not you actually want to trade that player.
The Pirates have played their cards right so far, which is why they would get such a good trade package from New York here. The headline of this package is Oswald Peraza. who is currently New York’s third overall prospect. Peraza looked solid in his limited majors stint last season, hitting .306 with a home run and two RBI’s in 49 at-bats, and he could immediately start for Pittsburgh next season.
The next piece is Everson Pereira, who appears to be a major-league ready outfielder who could potentially replace Reynolds. Pereira had a strong season at A+ and AA last year (.277 BA, 14 HR, 56 RBI, 21 SB, .819 OPS) and is currently New York’s fifth overall prospect. Trading Pereira would allow the Yanks to hold onto Jasson Dominguez, their second overall prospect who also plays outfield, which would be a huge win for New York.
That would force the Yankees to add another sweetener, which they do in the form of Clayton Beeter. Beeter was having an ugly season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in AA before being traded to New York, where he promptly had a strong finish to the season, posting a 2.13 over seven starts while striking out 41 batters along the way. Beeter could very well make the majors at some point in 2023 if he has a strong start to the season in the minors.
This would require the Yankees to part with a pretty solid package of prospects, but with Judge back in New York, the primary objective has to involve building a World Series contender around him right now. Parting with Peraza would be tough, but the front office seems to want to play Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop for some reason, which would instantly block his path to playtime.
And if that’s the case, moving him here to shore up the outfield and add another strong bat to the lineup in Reynolds would help soften the blow of losing a talented prospect. Reynolds is the best possible outfield upgrade New York can make at this stage in the offseason, and if they want to land him, this trade package would get the job done.
.