The New York Yankees could be looking to get extremely active at the approaching trade deadline. The team has some needs as they sit in first place in their division. The team is dealing with several slumping players at the mid-way point in the year. CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova are struggling at the mound while Stephen Drew and Brett Gardner are falling out of favor as well. With rumors swirling before the deadline, who is New York eyeing for help in the second-half of the season?
According to the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo, the Yankees are preparing to enter a bidding war for Ben Zobrist. According to Cafardo, the Yankees are frustrated with Drew who is batting a sub-.200 average. They called up Rob Refsnyder who will not be traded any time now. While he has upside at the plate, New York could be favoring Zobrist instead. The current Oakland Athletics star is currently batting .330 with three home runs and 15 RBI in July while he has a short-term contract of $7.5 million this season.
The Yankees are also getting linked to Brandon Phillips at the trade deadline. According to PinstripeAlley.com, the Yankees' interest in Phillips is nothing new. The team attempted to acquire him when Robinson Cano left, but they signed Gardner instead. With Drew having a bad season, the Yankees like the idea of adding Phillips in order to get the bats moving at the plate. The issue is just how available Phillips is. The Reds are putting several players on the trade market. Johnny Cueto is being shopped at the deadline while Phillips could be joining him. Jesse Spector of The Sporting News is reporting that the Reds want prospects which the Yankees might not be willing to dump.
The last bit of trade talk for the Yankees surrounds their pitching. It is no secret that Sabathia and Nova are struggling. Nova has returned from Tommy John surgery and has yet to really appear healthy on the mound as his numbers trend downwards. Meanwhile Sabathia has one of the worst ERAs on the team which is causing the Yankees to eye pitchers. FOX Sports has listed David Price as an option along with Cueto and Cole Hamels who have all been on the trade market for some time now. The Yankees will not dump Sabathia, but they cannot afford to keep him as a starter if he continues to struggle. Either of these three options would be solid replacements.