The New York Yankees are officially out of first place. The team lost to the Cleveland Indians during a streak that has seen the team's offense go silent while the rest of the division begins to hit their stride. Now New York must determine exactly how they will respond. After staying quiet at the trade deadline, the Yankees could easily make moves before the waiver deadline in hopes of improving production at the plate before it is too late.
According to George King of the New York Post, the Yankees are expected to make a call about Chase Utley. The Philadelphia Phillies placed the second baseman on waivers and now he can officially be traded to any taker. The Yankees have been sending scouts out to watch Utley's rehab games as he is set to return from injury. Utley is set to earn $11 million this year while having vesting options worth $15 million over the next three seasons.
The deciding factor on Utley is whether or not he is actually an upgrade from Stephen Drew who has fallen completely out of favor with New York. Brendan Ryan has been stepping in to help his poor production, but clearly that is not helping either. Is Utley the answer? Martin Prado could be. According to FOX Sports, the Miami Marlins are toying with making the utility man available on waivers. Prado would like be expensive in a deal considering the amount of interest in him. The Yankees would have to give up more for him than for Utley.
The Yankees are being picky with who they give up in trades. The team has no desire to let go of Luis Severino or Rob Refsnyder who have both seen playing time this season. According to owner Hal Steinbrenner, fans should not blame Brian Cashman for this struggling stint. The Yankees did pass up on deals for David Price, Troy Tulowitzki and Johnny Cueto, but he believes hold onto the prospects is more important.
"I didn't want to give those kids up,'' Steinbrenner said, via ESPN.com. "We've been looking at them for two, three years now. They've progressed perfectly. And they're all sitting there in [Triple-A] Scranton. Any one of them could contribute now if need be, and we've already seen that on [Luis] Severino the last two starts."
The waiver deadline is not until the end of August so the Yankees have time to determine just what they are willing to give up in a deal. The value for Utley is increasing by the day as interest grows in the infielder. New York would be wise to begin negotiating something now before another team moves in. The San Francisco Giants are currently pushing a trade for the second baseman and the Yankees risk being left out.