ESPN: Yankees close in to finalise a major deal with division opponent to land the Tampa Bay hot corner.

If the Yankees need a hot corner to help them score more points, they should try speaking with a division opponent.

While not much has gone well for the Rays in 2024, when it comes to players living up to expectations in Tampa, Isaac Paredes is at the top of the list. He is among the more alluring offensive possibilities available at the MLB Trade Deadline because of precisely that.

When considering trades inside the division, skepticism is understandable, but most of the time, if a deal is worth doing, everyone will go for it. With Alex Verdugo on the roster, the Yankees of 2024 are a prime illustration of that. With their current.500 mark hovering around, the Rays are probably looking ahead to 2025 and will find it difficult to get back into the race. Whether it turns out to be true or not, Tampa Bay is often not scared to make bold moves, even if it means losing out on proven players.

Even while the Rays’ offense hasn’t been the best in the American League as a whole, they do have some interesting commodities to trade, Isaac Paredes being the most notable, at least when considering 2024 production.

Paredes is another example of a player in the Tampa Bay Rays organization who is making the most of his talent set. He is presently leading the team in:

RBI (50), HR (15), and OPS (.829)
Paredes, the poster kid for pulled fly-balls, drives the ball to left field for all of his earnings. The third baseman has hit 66 home runs since joining the Rays, and each and every one of them has gone out to left.

This specific component of the Paredes game needs to be discussed since it clarifies a few points. For example, comparing wOBA with xwOBA has been a typical method used by fans, pundits, and others to identify underachievers and overachievers in any given year. Because it doesn’t account for batted-ball direction, xwOBA may be meaningless for Paredes and significantly underestimates his ability to maximize his batted-ball events.

Paredes lacks several of the physical characteristics that hitters of his class frequently have, and he doesn’t hit the ball very hard or have particularly quick bat speed. You’re looking at a 2024 All-Star who hit 30 home runs in the previous season despite all of that.

While some may question if Paredes could produce at this level in a different league, he has almost 350 games under his Rays uniform under his belt, demonstrating that his skill set is durable. After a trade, there’s no reason to believe he couldn’t carry on with this production.

According to recent rumors, Paredes is among the names on the Rays that are drawing the greatest interest. He would be a long-term addition as opposed to other assets available because the third baseman is under contract through the 2027 campaign. Paredes’s combination of performance and controllability would command a rather high price.

A lot of other teams in the Rays’ shoes would likely be less inclined to talk about a guy with Paredes’ level of control, especially given that Tampa appears to be in more of a rebuilding mode right now rather than a complete collapse. That would not, however, be the first or the last time Tampa offers a player with several years of control at a premium.

It should be emphasized that the division rivals, the Yankees and Rays, rarely talk with one another and have a shaky trading history. But, just before Opening Day, they did sign a three-way contract with Jon Berti and Ben Rortvedt to tag teams with the Marlins, so perhaps there is still hope.

Paredes would add further versatility to the Yankees squad, both in terms of the role he would play and any future changes the team may make. Paredes is mostly a third baseman, but he has also played first base for a fair amount of time, particularly in 2022 and 2023. Although Ben Rice is performing admirably, the Yankees should ideally add more hitters to the order.

Due to his versatility, Paredes is an excellent target since he can contribute critically while yet leaving room for additional acquisitions at other positions. The Rays are usually open to experimenting, so even though an AL-East deal seems unlikely, the Yankees ought to inquire about Paredes.