During the current rut the Yankees are in, fans are wondering if their team will be buyers or sellers going into the Trade Deadline. Heading into Wednesday's play, the Yankees are seven back of Boston for the American League East and 3.5 back of Baltimore for the second Wild Card. You can make a real case for the Yankees being buyers or sellers considering their place in the respective standings. However, given their interest in Alfonso Soriano, it appears as though they'll be buyers, but they shouldn't stop at just Soriano.
Yes, talks have stalled between the Yankees and Cubs in regards to Alfonso Soriano, but Jon Heyman still believes this is a trade that will get completed, for what it's worth. If/when this deal gets done, Alfonso Soriano and his 100 wRC+ would become the best right-handed batter on the team, and it's not close. Vernon Wells is currently the best righty hitter on the team (76 wRC+), followed by Chris Stewart (72 wRC+), and Eduardo Nunez (68 wRC+). Soriano's production against lefties (116 wRC+) would also be a nice boost. That 116 mark only trails Ichiro Suzuki (119 wRC+) and is tied with Robinson Cano for best on the team.
With all this said, the Yankees' interest in Soriano is a clear indication they'll buy at the deadline. Personally, over the last couple of days, I have leaned towards the "The Yankees should be sellers at the deadline" side of the argument, given how tough the American League is and how the team appears to be trending downward rather than upward going forward, but whatever. Either way, I'd be much happier if they do something, whether it be buy or sell, rather than just sit on their hands and do nothing.
At the right price, Soriano would be a really nice add, but the Yankees would be foolish to stop there. A corner outfielder with power like Soriano is just what they need, but they also need a shortstop, a third baseman, at least a right-handed platoon partner for Lyle Overbay, and a catcher. The list goes on and on. Some of these holes could be filled by waiting for the injured guys to comeback (ie: Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez,), but that plan has been a massive fail so far. It might be time to actually go outside the organization to get a bat instead of simply relying on the old and injured players to come back.
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