It's painfully obvious that the New York Yankees need to trade for a third baseman.
Right now, the Yankees have a pair of third baseman in a platoon (Oswald Peraza and Jorbit Vivas) who are both batting under .150. That sentence was crazy to type, and it will be even crazier if both are still seeing significant playing time next month.
Unfortunately, a lot of contending teams have the same need (Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers). And at this stage, it's not entirely clear which players will be available at the hot corner.
However, one baseball analyst foresees the Yankees landing a third baseman who may be injury-prone, but has had a strong year when he's been active.
During Wednesday's episode of the "Talkin' Baseball" podcast, Jomboy Media's Jack Oliver (a.k.a. "Jolly Olive") predicted that the Yankees would acquire Yoan Moncada in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels.
"Yoan Moncada going to the Yankees feels like an easy win," Oliver said. "I don't know if they want to trade Spencer Jones or any of the big dogs (prospects). They wouldn't have to do that to get this deal done.
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The switch-hitting Moncada has a solid .805 OPS and seven home runs in 36 games this season, having just returned from the injured list a week before the All-Star break. However, Oliver also had a word of caution about the possibility he's actually traded.
"I don't know if the Angels are gonna sell, because I don't ever know what they're gonna do," he said.
Moncada might not be the first choice of every Yankees fan, but if he's available, he'd at least be an upgrade over Peraza and Vivas.
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