When the Yankees finally seek to win the championship this season, they are facing some severe issues in their left field. Per Yankees standards, they always prefer 7 left outfielders, but in 2023, they have just 4 on the rosters, which is not a Yankee thing! But as the trade deadline is not yet arrived and there are still some good left fielders available in the market, the Yankees are trying their best to clinch them all. At present, according to The New York Post, as reported by Jon Heyman, Yankees are in talks with David Peralta.
Unfortunately, the Yankees are not recording the expected results in the AL East, and for this, the manager Brian Cashman holds the responsibility. The Yankees follow a ritual to not focus on the aging players, even if they are the ones who need to leave as soon as possible. Yes, Aaron Hicks is the first name that comes to mind in terms of kicking off some players from the Bronx Bombers. He has posted just .216/.330/.313 with 453 plate appearances.
However, in 2021, when Hicks was finally not injured that much, he improved his scores and made .194/.294/.333. But was this even an improvement? It is still below the average. Cashman will certainly face huge criticism from Yanks fans if he does nothing with Hicks. But the money! Money is the problem, removing Hicks will lead the Yankees to eat up 50% of his contract money.
Offering A Modest Contract To David Peralta Might Cost Yankees Too Much
However, even before Aaron Hicks and Josh Donaldson’s releasing or trading, what is more, critical for the Yankees is chasing the left fielders. At present, the only options available in the free agency market are David Peralta and Jurickson Profar. However, the trade players meeting Yankees standards are Bryan Reynolds and Max Kepler. But a huge financial shortage might prevent New York from trading Reynolds as the Pittsburg has set a massive price for him. Meanwhile, the Bombers can afford Kepler from Minnesota, but so far, there has been no conversation between the teams.
Meanwhile, speaking of David Peralta, he is pretty not impressive for the Yankees at the moment. The diamondback player indeed had a good impression back in 2018 when he made 30 home runs in a season. But after the lucky year, for four years, he is facing misfortunes. Over 490 trips, Peralta owned .251/.316/.415 last year, which is a mediocre score.
Since when he was traded with Tampa Bay from the Rays, he has stumbled .255/.317/.355 score with just 180 strips. According to Heyman, any average deal with Peralta might cost the Yankees too much. The team must not overspend more than the $293 MM luxury tax mark. And as per the calculation, the Yankees are already at $292.3 MM. So if they prefer economic stability, then going for David would prove to be costly for them. However, sources are saying that the Yankees are in contact with the Tampa Bay player. Let’s see if any good outcome appears or not.