The New York Yankees are no strangers to being involved in the biggest trade and free agent rumors of the offseason. Whether it's being linked to Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette, or even Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes, the Yankees are always involved.
But most of those hypothetical trades or free agent signings make sense. It could be to fill a need, replace an aging veteran, or even to just build upon a strength; most of the players and moves the Yankees are predicted to make or linked to make sense.
That isn't the case with Jim Bowden of The Athletics' prediction. The former MLB general manager predicts the Yankees will swing a blockbuster deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks that will force Jazz Chisholm Jr. To move from second base to third base.
Yankees predicted to make odd trade for Diamondbacks star that would force a Jazz Chisholm position switch
Bowden predicts that the "Yankees acquire second baseman Ketel Marte from the Diamondbacks for right-hander pitcher Elmer Rodriguez and second baseman Roderick Arias."
While this trade would be an exciting one on paper, landing a superstar All-Star like Ketel Marte, the fit on the Yankees is far from a clear one. To make this fit work, Bowden proposes, "New York then moves Jazz Chisholm to third base and plays Marte at second."
The Yankees keeping Chisholm at second base would be the much preferable spot for him defensively. While he has experience at third base before in his career, he's a significantly better defender when playing second base.
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Even though Marte would be a huge improvement for the offense, bringing with him his.283 batting average and.893 OPS from 2025, the defensive impact would make this a very odd trade to make.
An infield of Marte, Chisholm, Ben Rice, and a combination of Anthony Volpe and Jose Caballero at shortstop would be a strong group offensively, but there would be some major question marks defensively.
Marte is a great player, but the Yankees' acquiring him and moving Chisholm to third base is a strange trade for Bowden to propose. This kind of deal and infield shuffling works better on paper than it does in practice.
It's a strange trade prediction from Bowden, and one that's incredibly unlikely given the circumstances surrounding Chisholm and a potential move to third base.
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