The New York Yankees require another bat and a catcher to fill in until Jose Trevino returns. Fortunately for them, the Colorado Rockies have a decent hitting catcher to spare in Elias Diaz as the MLB trade deadline approaches.
With Trevino on the injured list and the Yankees relying on Austin Wells for the majority of at-bats at the position, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand posits a deal between Diaz and the Yankees.
“Colorado is one of the sure-fire sellers, so unloading its expiring contracts makes perfect sense,” he said in a July 22 article. “Could the Yankees be a suitor now that Jose Trevino will miss significant time with a quad strain?”
Trevino has been sidelined since suffering a Grade 2 strain on July 12. According to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News, Trevino ran and played catch on Thursday as he continues to recover, but the Yankees’ former All-Star catcher is still a long way from returning.
Wells is 2-20 in the team’s five games following Trevino’s injury.
How Elias Diaz Fits With the Yankees
Diaz is a definite catcher upgrade over Wells and, most likely, Trevino. He’s an average hitter overall, but that’s not the most important factor at his position. He is hitting.283 with five home runs and a.731 OPS (100 OPS+). It may not seem like much, but the Yankees only have three active starters (Ben Rice, Aaron Judge, and Juan Soto) with an OPS+ above 100.
The Rockies catcher is also having one of the best defensive seasons of his career. Baseball Savant rates him slightly lower than Trevino in pitch framing and blocking, but far higher in pop time and caught stealing than average. Anyone who has watched Trevino behind the plate this season has seen how opponents can take advantage of him.
This would not be a long-term commitment for the Yankees, as Diaz is a free agency at the end of the season. At 33 years old, he earns $6 million this year. With Trevino still under team ownership, Diaz is expected to be a rental to assist shoulder the strain for the remainder of 2024.
The Yankees Need Another Bat
Mets pitcher Luis Severino made news for mocking his former Yankees colleagues for having only two legitimate hitters in their lineup (Judge and Soto). He’s not completely wrong. Since June 15, the Yankees have hit.225, ranking third worst in the majors.
During that moment, hitters who the Yankees thought they could rely on went silent at the plate. Trevino, Gleyber Torres, Anthony Volpe, DJ LeMahieu, and Alex Verdugo all had a below-average wRC+ during that time, with all but Torres hitting below.200. To be fair, Wells has performed marginally better, with a 137 wRC+ and the team’s greatest walk rate aside from Soto.
Even with Diaz, the Yankees will need their current players to rise up. No plausible combination of trade deadline moves can account for nearly 80% of an offense. However, another bat would be beneficial and, at the very least, could boost the energy level surrounding a team that has been struggling for six weeks.
