Would a Nolan Arenado trade make sense for the Yankees? Mailbag, part 2

The New York Yankees were active over the weekend.

They traded backup catcher Jose Trevino to the Cincinnati Reds for relief pitcher Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson.

They also signed former National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year contract.

Goldschmidt replaces Anthony Rizzo as the first baseman on the roster.

Advertisement The Yankees still need to figure out who will play either second or third base.

Jazz Chisholm Jr.

gives the Yankees flexibility because he could start at either position.

But the 2025 roster is nearing completion.

In case you missed part one of our mailbag, you can read it here .

Lets get to part two below.

Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length.

Is there a world where the Yankees acquire Nolan Arenado for DJ LeMahieu ? DJ is making $30 million over the next two years while Arenado is making $74 million over the next three years.

Does any trade make sense? Anonymous Theres at least a world where Arenado could still be a starter for the next few years.

Its hard to imagine LeMahieu being an adequate starter, given how hes looked over the past couple of seasons.

But this isnt a baseball conversation in this hypothetical trade.

Were having a salary conversation.

LeMahieus owed $15 million this season, and Arenados CBT salary is $25.55 million.

The Cardinals had an agreement in place with the Houston Astros where St.

Louis was set to pay $5 million of Arenados salary, but the third baseman used his full no-trade clause and nixed the deal.

The Cardinals want as much salary relief as possible, so taking on LeMahieus contract, even though its less than Arenados, may not work for them.

MLB.com reported the Yankees offered Marcus Stroman ($18.5 million CBT salary) for Arenado, but the Cardinals rejected that offer.

The Yankees continue to check in with the Cardinals on a possible deal as they look for one more infielder to round out their roster.

If the Yankees were to acquire Arenado, that could allow Chisholm to play second base, a more natural position for him.

The idea of Arenado playing for the Yankees likely grew over the weekend because his close friend, Paul Goldschmidt , signed a one-year deal to play first base.

But the Yankees should be cautious of pursuing Arenado.

The lineup needs internal growth from the young players, and adding declining veterans may weaken the overall group.

Arenado has turned in back-to-back years of declining offensive production, and locking him under contract for three more years doesnt seem like a good use of payroll.

Hes still an elite defender, but his metrics do not indicate hes poised to break out offensively this year.

Plus, Arenados power has decreased in the past two years and Yankee Stadium wont help his swing, like it should for Cody Bellinger .

Advertisement The Yankees should stay away.

How likely is Roki Sasaki? And would that mean in turn that two of Luis Gil , Stroman and Clarke Schmidt would be dealt? Henry H.

Sasaki remains an option for the Yankees.

They met with him in California over the weekend, but they wont know what his decision is until Jan.

15 at the earliest because thats when the 2025 international free-agency signing period opens.

Joel Wolfe, Sasakis agent, has not indicated whats important for his client when he chooses his MLB team.

The best I can say is, he has paid attention to how teams have done, as far as overall success, both this year and years past, Wolfe said at the Winter Meetings.

He does watch a lot of Major League Baseball.

He has paid attention to what his WBC teammates have done.

Hes talked to a lot of players who have been on his team with Chiba Lotte.

He asked a lot of questions about weather, about comfortability, about pitching development.

And just watching what other Japanese players in the major leagues are doing and how they are doing.

The two teams constantly mentioned for Sasaki are the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres .

The best guess is that one of those teams will land Sasaki, but the Yankees hope he plays on the East Coast.

He has a chance to be one of the worlds great pitchers, Brian Cashman said last week.

It would be nice to have Yankee Stadium be his home.

Itll be a decision up to him.

All we can do is share everything and anything about ourselves and what we provide.

If the Yankees were to land Sasaki, it would not mean theyd have to trade away two pitchers.

They would like to trade Stroman to get out of his contract, but thats a separate matter outside of Sasaki.

It would be likelier that the Yankees held on to both Gil and Schmidt and brought Sasaki along slowly.

How realistic is it that the Yankees can unload the Stroman/DJ contracts by attaching a higher-level prospect (Jones/Lombard)? Justin L.

It would be an easy trade to complete for the Yankees if they were attaching Spencer Jones or George Lombard in a hypothetical Stroman or LeMahieu trade.

The Yankees would not do that, however.

They would not trade either of those players to get off Stromans or LeMahieus salary.

It would not be a smart decision.

Advertisement What are the chances the Yankees give another rookie a chance this year besides Jasson Dominguez ? Everson Pereira , Oswald Peraza , Ben Rice ? Gregory D.

Out of those three, Rice is the most likely to have a role.

The Yankees have a vacancy at first base, and Rice hits the crap out of the ball.

The Yankees have a vacancy at second and third base, two positions Peraza can play, but its clear from the organizations actions that its cooled on him.

Pereira could be an option for left field, but hes coming off elbow surgery and is not considered a candidate for the vacancy.

Clayton Beeter could grab a bullpen spot, too, but of the players on offense, Rice has the best chance to play outside of Dominguez.

Why have the Yankees been so hesitant to give The Martian the opportunity to play full-time? Rafael T.

Its easy to forget that Dominguez is only 21 years old.

Sixteen players in 2024 who were 21 or younger received at least one plate appearance.

Dominguez, with 67 plate appearances, received the seventh-most.

Only two of the 16 were everyday players for the entire season: Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio .

I think they should have called Dominguez up earlier than they did this past season because Alex Verdugo was such a negative offensively.

But, as of now, hell have an opportunity to be the Yankees starting center fielder or left fielder in 2025.

Id like to see him get his shot now, Cashman said last week.

Would Yanks risk a youth movement? Jasson in CF, Peraza at 2B or 3B, Rice at 1B? If one or more flops, they adjust at the trade deadline.

Stephen G.

We know Rice wont be starting at first base after the Goldschmidt signing.

Dominguez seems destined to be starting in either left field or center field on Opening Day.

The Yankees should be done adding to their outfield, but if they get someone else who may start, it could signal they dont believe Dominguez is major-league-ready.

Peraza is one of the internal candidates who could grab second or third base.

If the Yankees dont sign or trade for someone, hell head to spring training with a chance to win the job.

The other candidates to start would be Oswaldo Cabrera , LeMahieu and Jorbit Vivas .

Peraza is out of options, so if the Yankees didnt want to lose him for nothing, they would have to carry him on the 26-man roster.

How do we get Luis Arraez for first base? Henry R.

Henry sent this question in before the Yankees signed Goldschmidt to play first base, but theres still room for Arraez if they wanted him for second base, where he also plays.

Advertisement The Padres could trade Arraez if they cannot sign him to a long-term extension.

He is a free agent at the end of the coming season.

Arraez is a polarizing player because hes a terrible defender and doesnt offer much on the basepaths but is one of the best bat-to-ball hitters in the sport.

Hes almost exclusively a singles and doubles hitter.

While theres value, the Yankees should look to see if they can add more power before inquiring about Arraezs availability.

Arraez could play second, but he shouldnt be their first choice.

It would make more sense to bring Gleyber Torres back rather than trading for Arraez.

But it doesnt appear as if Torres is an option for the Yankees.

(Top photo of Nolan Arenado: Stacy Revere / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.