The New York Yankees have lost seven of their last 10 games, but they’re still one of baseball’s best teams with a 54-32 record. Manager Aaron Boone’s club could use multiple upgrades ahead of the July 30 trade deadline, though. Could the Bombers find a way to bring infielder Luis Rengifo and reliever Carlos Estevez of the Los Angeles Angels to the Bronx?
The Athletic’s Chris Kirshner and Brendan Kuty put together six trade proposals on June 28 to improve weak spots in the Yankees’ roster. They also had former general manager Jim Bowden critique each hypothetical deal. Here’s what they think is needed to get those two from the Angels:
Yankees receive: infielder Luis Rengifo and relief pitcher Carlos Estevez
Angels receive: outfielder Everson Pereira and right-handed pitcher Ian Hamilton
“I also love this trade concept for the Yankees as Rengifo is an underrated player who comes with an additional year of control and Estévez would give New York closing security behind Holmes. However, this deal makes little sense for the Angels,” Bowden said. “Pereira has huge power but his hit tool is no sure thing and Hamilton will be 30 years old next year. A rebuilding team like the Angels needs prospects more than a veteran reliever with a 1.584 WHIP and 4.2 walks per nine innings. Love it for the Yankees, hate it for the Angels.”
Acquiring Rengifo Could Be Exactly What the Yankees Need
Even when the Yankees were rolling, there were rumblings about upgrading the right side of their infield. Bowden mentioned that as a possibility while discussing trade deadline needs for all 30 MLB teams at the start of June. “The Yankees’ right side of the infield has underperformed and if the production doesn’t improve, that will be the area of focus to upgrade via trades,” he said.
This includes first baseman Anthony Rizzo (who is now on the injured list) and second baseman Gleyber Torres. The 27-year-old has struggled to a .652 OPS in his first 341 plate appearances this season. Veteran DJ LeMahieu is also struggling at third base. He’s posted a .497 OPS through 99 plate appearances.
Rengifo would give the Yankees someone who could play all over the infield while hitting at an above-average clip. Most of his 2024 playing time has been split between second and third base, but he’s also accumulated innings at shortstop and the outfield throughout his career, per Baseball-Reference.
After posting a .556 OPS in 2021, Rengifo improved that to .724 in 2022 and .783 in 2023. His current OPS through 261 plate appearances is .810 thanks to a .317/.362/.449 line. That .317 batting average was the highest in baseball before July 2 games began.
Estevez Would Give New York a Solid Late-Game Bullpen Duo
The Yankees have had 21 different hurlers appear in relief in 2024. Ahead of July 2 games, they’ve produced 1.5 fWAR as a group, which ranks 16th in baseball. Closer Clay Holmes has easily been the most productive. His performance has been worth 1.0 fWAR through 34 innings. Adding Estevez to the Yankees’ bullpen would give Boone a solid one-two punch at the end of games.
Estevez has twirled a 3.00 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 27 strikeouts in 27 innings for the Angels in 2024. His recent performance has been much more impressive, though. The right-hander owned a 4.76 ERA through the end of May before not allowing a run in June (10 innings pitched). Estevez has also saved 47 games since the start of 2023, so he has plenty of experience in high-leverage situations.
Unlike Rengifo, Estevez is in the second season of a two-year, $13.5 million contract. So, any team that acquires him would do so understanding he’s a half-season rental before hitting free agency in November.
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