The New York Yankees are a juggernaut.
They are, as of Tuesday, the best team in MLB together with the Philadelphia Phillies, with a 42-19 record.
Their offense is potent and their pitching has been phenomenal, particularly the rotation.
There are a couple of issues on the offensive end, though.
First baseman Anthony Rizzo and second baseman Gleyber Torres haven’t performed as expected.
The former is slashing .240/.301/.360 with seven home runs, but a .661 OPS.
The latter is at .230/.308/.324 with four round-trippers and a .632 OPS.
Analyst Jim Bowden suggests that the right side of the Yankees infield, namely Torres and Rizzo, could be an area to improve ahead of the trade deadline, via Fireside Yankees.
Bowden’s exact words were: “If (the right side of the infield) doesn’t improve, that will be the area of focus to upgrade via trades.”
He implies that the Yankees can, and probably will, give both struggling stars a few weeks to right the ship.
Their trajectory and recent track record of success warrants that opportunity, not to mention the fact that the Yanks can probably afford to give them that chance because of their excellent record.
However, no one in baseball is irreplaceable, especially when the player is just not producing.
The Yankees have some really good prospects in the lower and upper minors to entertain some trades ahead of the deadline, and there are always some sellers willing to take a chance on those prospects.
Will New York find itself in need of replacing Rizzo and Torres eventually?
We will have to wait a few weeks to know the answer to that question.
