1 massive way to shake up the 2022 MLB trade deadline

Buster Olney reports on ESPN (subscription required) that the New York Yankees are more focused on hanging on to Aaron Judge than putting together a trade package for Juan Soto. While there is no reason for the two ideas to be mutually exclusive — the Yankees can probably walk and chew gum simultaneously, and putting two $30 million-plus sluggers on the field together (three, if you count Giancarlo Stanton, who will probably feel slighted if he doesn’t get a raise) is certainly financially feasible — there is a solution at the MLB trade deadline that will address both problems.

Trade Aaron Judge for Juan Soto at the MLB trade deadline

Did your head just explode? Of course it did. And you are immediately thinking of the dozens of reasons why this will never happen, foremost being that the New York Yankees are on pace to win 110 games this season and Judge is a prime contender for AL MVP, so why mess with that? Add to that the fact that New York still seems confident that they can sign Judge, and the fact that if Washington did this deal they might end up without Soto or Judge after this season, and a Judge/Soto deal quickly looks like no more than the fever dream of a demented blogger.

And yet … what if the Yankees have just decided they have no shot at resigning Judge? Soto is six  years younger than Judge and under contract for two more years. While the lifetime stats are similar, the fact that Soto bats left-handed might make the Yankees’ lineup slightly more balanced, since six of the top seven Yankees ranked by at bats this season bat right-handed.

Selling this from Washington’s viewpoint is even tougher … but what if the Yankees are willing to take on Corbin’s salary to make this happen, plus throw in top prospect Anthony Volpe? That leaves Washington with a stripped-down payroll after this season, and a building block to start their rebuild to go with recent draft pick Elijah Green. It also puts them in prime position to tank for a couple of years, if that is the direction they choose.

Is that better than getting a boatload of prospects from, say, the Los Angeles Dodgers? Probably not, but the Nats being for sale throws a kink into that thought process. Maybe Mike Rizzo, the Nats’ GM, isn’t keen on getting new bosses, or he isn’t keen on starting a huge rebuild at the age of 62. Maybe Scott Boras, Soto’s agent, will pass the word that Soto is going to test free agency no matter who trades for him, which means the offers Rizzo gets won’t kick the rebuild into overdrive. You also have to factor in the simple fact that teams don’t always make the best baseball move, especially a new owner looking to make a splash or an outgoing owner trying to maximize his selling price.

Does any of this mean you should bet your house that this trade happens? Certainly not. But, as you read this, the Yankees are 10-10 in the month of July, and their lead over the Astros for the best record in the American League is down to 1.5 games. All of which makes the idea of standing pat and coasting into the playoffs a little less attractive than it was a couple of weeks ago.

Suppose the Yankees go across town this week and get swept by the Mets. We might start to hear just a bit of rumbling in the Bronx about things slipping away. Is Andrew Benintendi the kind of move that quiets the New York media? Or do the Yankees need to do something earth-shattering, just to change the narrative?

Still think it’s crazy? Yeah, you’re probably right. Probably…