Yankees would make sense as Tommy Pham trade destination

The second half of the New York Mets’ season is now underway. There’s still no signal as to
whether this team will add or subject at the soon-approaching deadline. On one hand, the
starting pitching has slowly started to reel it in, despite another disappointing start from David
Peterson and another big game absence from Max Scherzer. Francisco Lindor raised his batting
average the past two weeks, opening up naysayers’ eyes to the fact that he’s having another
great season. A 4-2 roadtrip, which was deflated a bit by the aforementioned starts of Peterson
and Scherzer, was still a step in the right direction. However, the infamous June Swoon has
caused this team to be on the outside looking in on a playoff spot.

Should this team not turn things around and Billy Eppler decides to blow it up, it certainly
wouldn’t be Tommy Pham’s fault. Pham has blown expectations out of the water for what he
was going to be this season. He was the one player who showed up for every game he played
in during that awful month of June, slugging .349/.387/.640/1.027 while knocking six home runs.
He usurped the starting left field position for the Mets, and was their main source of offense in
June. This also makes him a prime trade candidate should this team decide to sell, and there
just so happens to be a team across town who has one heck of a left field problem.

The New York Yankees tethered their offensive success to Aaron Judge following his historic,
record-setting season last year. Since Judge’s injury, a torn toe ligament that does not have a
solid return date, the Yankee offense has been flat out boring. Their offense limped through
June, managing a .208 average and only 29 home runs after hitting 53 the month before. Left
field has been a rotating cast of characters for that team as well, with nine different Yankees
suiting up in the position. From Oswaldo Cabrera to Jake Bauers, no one has lit it up in left field.

For an organization that prides itself on not missing the postseason, and is currently within
striking distance of a postseason spot, this is a trade that could make too much sense not to
make. The Yankees will be shopping in the discount section this deadline in order to save
money for a run at Shohei Ohtani. Pham’s contract was built for a deadline acquisition, as he is
not expensive and is only under contract until the end of the season.

What does this mean in terms of what the Mets could receive in return? Well, if they are selling,
they are not likely to want MLB talent in return for the trade. The focus has been building the
farm, but that has mostly been with position players. The Mets will have to see a pitcher in
return for Pham, especially if he is going to be a player plugged into the Yankees lineup. Would
the Yankees be willing to part with their 2021 third round pick Brock Selvidge? Selvidge is a
left-handed pitcher who has performed solidly at each level he has been at so far in the Yankee
organization, and is ranked #28 in their prospect pool. According to mlb.com, Selvidge can sit
between 91-95 mph on his fastball and has a sharp low 80’s slider. He’s not perfect by any
means, but with some development, he could instantly beef up the Mets prospect pool.

Of course, there are a couple of things that could hold this trade up from happening. The
Yankees could decide to go all in and trade for Ohtani at the deadline, which has been tossed
around by multiple outlets. The Yankees could also decide to stay put at the deadline, and rely
on whatever Judge will look like when he returns from injury. One aspect that could prevent the
two teams from trading is the taboo of trading with a cross-town rival. The last time the two
teams swapped players, it was the ill-fated swap of Miguel Castro for Joely Rodriguez. Would
the Mets really want to help the Yankees in their attempt to get back to the postseason, while
their season has started to crumble?

There are a lot of decisions that will have to be made by Eppler soon. Along with Pham, there
are a whole host of other Mets who could be potential trade candidates. Unless this team strings
together a run to put itself into playoff contention, Pham and others might be in a different
uniform come August 2.