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If the Yankees are seriously considering trading top prospect Spencer Jones, despite his concerning whiff rate, for Garrett Crochet—who might end up in the bullpen by September—then they seem open to almost any possibility this summer.
If that’s the case, why not address Giancarlo Stanton’s slow recovery and the lack of productivity in left field by adding another top-10 hitter in baseball?
Wait a second. One of those is available?! Let’s see, Shohei Ohtani’s under contract for 30 years, Gunnar Henderson and Bobby Witt Jr. are probably staying put, Bryce Harper should’ve been a Yankee but isn’t … who are we missing here?
Oh. Wow. Right there.
The Yankees can trade for Oakland A’s slugger Brent Rooker. Yes, they can.
Rooker at DH is ideal. Rooker in left field, as you can tell from the chart above, is less than ideal; he rarely plays there, totaling just 102 1/3 innings in the outfield this season. But what’s the worst he could do? Faceplant on a ball with a 99% catch probability to end a crucial divisional game?
Though most baseball fans have tried hard not to pay attention to what’s going on in Oakland this year out of sympathy for the disrespected fans, Rooker was likely this summer’s biggest All-Star snub, but couldn’t crack the roster because … well, because MLB felt weird giving the team they ripped away from its locale two honorees.
Thanks to a recent scorching stretch, the 29-year-old’s OPS is up to .939 with 22 homers and 67 RBI through play on Monday, and he’s only getting stronger as the season progresses. Once thought to be a fit for the Phillies, who value slugging the way the Yankees used to (not coincidentally under Kevin Long), Dave Dombrowski has reportedly moved on. That means, if New York’s brain trust is willing to pay the price, they can allow Giancarlo Stanton to rehab at his own pace rather than rushing him back. They can protect against the three weeks of Stanton ramping back up against big-league pitching that we all know always accompany his returns from the Injured List. He’ll be a weapon again someday, but it might take a while.
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If Rooker joins the fold and Stanton returns to form, there will be days when the Yankees can deemphasize Verdugo, the worst qualified hitter in MLB since June 15, regardless of whether Jasson Dominguez successfully rehabilitates his oblique injury. It might seem like an odd move on the surface, with a crowded DH spot (and Aaron Judge requiring half-days), but so was acquiring Edwin Encarnacion back in 2019. Remember 2019? That was the last year when the Yankees saw their surging offense and decided, “You know, we don’t have to just fill holes. We can add to strengths, too.”
Given the likely trajectory of Stanton’s recovery, Rooker would be an excellent “all-in” move for a team that hasn’t gone all in for a while.
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