MLB Trade Rumors: 5 New York Yankees Players That Could be Dealt


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5 New York Yankees That Could be Traded

yankees
Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees are always a force in the AL East. Despite a lineup scattered with aging talent, 2013 is no different.

With above-average pitching and average hitting, the Yankees are making a strong first-half push for the best record in baseball. At 27-16, they may have surprised everyone with their start because of their lack of usual Yankee-type talent.

Curtis Granderson was missing for the first fourth of the season and Alex Rodriguez may be gone for a while — some Yankee fans want him gone forever. Kevin Youkilis and Andy Pettite were both just placed on the 15-day disabled list, making for an interesting couple of weeks coming up.

Derek Jeter may miss a long period of time after yet another injury. His career may be quickly coming to an end. Not many people knew how good Mariano Rivera was going to be coming off an injury that forced him to miss the entire 2012 season.

Granderson is now back and Rivera is pitching better than ever, maybe even earning himself the Comeback Player of the Year award.

Being in the toughest division in baseball, the Yankees may need to be very active around the trade deadline, as they always are, and pick up some much-needed talent so they can make a push and maybe pull away in the AL East.

The trade deadline may be far away still, but there will always be speculation of which players will make the best trade bait. Here are my top five Yankee players that could be traded in order to make a deep run.

Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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Brennan Boesch

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Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Brennan Boesch was brought to the Yankees from the Detroit Tigers this offseason to give them some youth and depth in the outfield. He began the season as a starter, but has been struggling ever since. Hitting a mere .209 with two home runs and five RBI is just not cutting it in New York. He's still young, so he makes a good trade bait with his power as well.

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Ichiro Suzuki

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Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Ichiro has been one of the best hitters in baseball since joining the MLB 12 seasons ago. He has a career batting average of .321, but has mustered just a .241 average so far in 2013. Ichiro is getting old as well, approaching the prime age of 40. It might be time to unload the former superstar for some cash or maybe some young talent from a team looking to win this year.

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Ivan Nova

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Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Ivan Nova is currently on the disabled list. But when healthy and producing like he has potential to, he can do big things. He was once the Yankees best young pitching prospect. At the ripe age of 26, his best years are far from over. Nova has had a tough season so far with a 6.48 ERA, but a recent injury has kept him from improving on that. It may just be time for the young pitcher with a 4.47 career ERA to find a new home.

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Phil Hughes

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Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees' starting pitching has been relatively solid this season outside of guys named Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes. New York has the eighth best ERA in baseball, but they can't exactly thank Hughes' 5.88 ERA for that. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2010, the sixth-year player has struggled, never posting an ERA under four. He could make a solid bullpen-type guy for a team with those kind of needs.

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Vernon Wells

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Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

Vernon Wells is having a pretty solid season thus far, owning the second highest batting average on the Yankees(.286) and boasting some power as well with 10 home runs. Oh, and another thing, Wells is 34-years-old and is approaching the age of retirement. The way he is playing right now would fool many people. But if the Yankees could trade him for some younger talent, it would be a trade worth making.

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