Why Now Is the Right Time
Trade Spencer Jones? Yeah, we’re aware other teams have been barking up this tree, only to have the Yankees bark back, “No!”
Case in point, the Yankees had a chance to trade for 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara in July. According to Heyman, however, Jones is one of the prospects the Yankees refused to part with. Alcantara ultimately stayed put in Miami.
One could understand the Yankees’ reluctance to move Jones back then, and he might be even more untouchable now. The Yankees have several holes in their outfield, and Jones’ stock is back up after a 2025 season in which he slammed 35 homers with a .932 OPS at Double-A and Triple-A.
Nonetheless, the 6’7″, 242-pounder is a 40-grade hitter with an obvious weak spot, with his strikeout rate having taken up a permanent spot in the mid-30s over the last two seasons. If that is happening in the minors, the Yankees have every reason to fear just how badly he could be exploited by major league pitching.
‘Who Says No?’ Trade Proposal: San Diego Padres get OF Spencer Jones; New York Yankees get RHP Jeremiah Estrada
Estrada could be tough to pry loose now that Robert Suarez is a free agent. And yet, the Padres badly need to add power this winter after finishing third from the bottom of MLB with 152 home runs.
For their part, any money the Yankees don’t spend on their bullpen could be used to add outfielders in free agency. To this end, it makes more sense to trade for someone like Estrada (a strikeout machine with club control through 2029) than it does to throw money at Edwin DÃaz.
Other Potential Landing Spots: Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds
