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The New York Yankees will take the field Wednesday with a 4.5-game lead over the Boston Red Sox in the American League Wild Card standings. But they risk falling behind the boys from Beantown when it comes to the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline.
For months now, buzz has grown around the Yankees pursuing an upgrade at shortstop with Anthony Volpe falling out of favor. This season, the veteran infielder is slugging .245 with a home run and 14 RBI across 47 games.
However, the latest intel has the Red Sox in the market for a shortstop amid their historic 14-game winning streak.
"There’s some others out there, at least names being tossed around, that would make a lot of sense for the Red Sox. And shortstop is a position I think of import to them and of focus to them," ESPN's Jeff Passan said Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show.
Red Sox's focus on shortstop upgrade could throw a wrench into Yankees' deadline plans
Boston came into the season with two-time All-Star Trevor Story locked in at shortstop. But he remains on the injured list while recovering from sports hernia surgery.
"There’s an opportunity to go out and potentially get Jeremy Pena from the Houston Astros and even CJ Abrams, who’s had a great year but probably not a shortstop long term, could be had as well," Passan added.
"And I think the Red Sox are going to try to be aggressive. And I don’t blame them," Passan noted. "When you win 14 games in a row like this. When you rescue your season from the depth and the doldrums where they were for the first 80-something games, you just have to go and do it."
If you're Yankees GM Brian Cashman or in the front office, this is the last thing you want to hear, given your other needs at the deadline. Adding the Red Sox into the mix, makes the competition at the SS trade market for Abrams or whoever more complicated.
As we've noted recently, Abrams is the best shortstop on the trade market. The two-time All-Star leads all MLB shortstops with a .892 OPS. He's also tied with the Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery for the most home runs this season by a shortstop (24).
However, the Washington Nationals (51-51) are just 1.5 games back in the NL Wild Card standings and might be inclined to keep Abrams.
"The Nationals dangled Abrams over the winter, but no one came close to stepping up and making a bid to pry him away. It may be no different this time around," USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported Tuesday.
The 25-year-old Abrams has two more seasons of arbitration eligibility remaining, meaning he is under team control through 2028.
As a result, ESPN's Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel wrote Tuesday that there is just a 25% chance the Nationals will trade Abrams. They list the Yankees, Red Sox, Braves, Rays, and Blue Jays as best fits should Washington be willing to wheel and deal.
At the same time, FanSided's Robert Murray said on Tuesday that "Teams will inquire on CJ Abrams to see what it takes to pry the star shortstop out of Washington."
One thing is certain: when the Yankees and Red Sox renew their rivalry on Aug. 28, it's a good bet both clubs will look much different for the stretch run.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/yankees/onsi as Yankees Could Lose Top Shortstop Trade Candidate CJ Abrams to AL East Rival.
