Connect with us

Sports

Yankees trade scenarios: Bowden weighs proposals for Mason Miller, CJ Abrams and more

Published

35 minutes ago

on

PHILADELPHIA — The New York Yankees, unquestionably, will be buyers at this year’s trade deadline.

“I know we want to try and improve our club,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday, before an 11-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. “I know the front office is grinding away at that, so I know we’re going to try. You never know what’s going to be out there. It always takes a couple teams to tango.”

The Yankees could use an upgrade at catcher, at least one more high-leverage reliever, and at least one more bat, in light of the injuries to Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger.

As the team enters the final week before the Aug. 3 deadline, let’s consider potential options to fill those needs. After proposing five hypothetical Yankees trades, we asked former general manager Jim Bowden to weigh in on them and determine which club would say no.

How many players will the Mets trade by the deadline?

Ken Rosenthal and Johnny Sweet

Yankees get: RP Mason Miller

Padres get: SP Will Warren, OF Jasson Domínguez, SS Dax Kilby, SP Ben Hess

Miller is one of MLB’s elite game-changing players. When on the mound, he’s as close as a pitcher can get to being an automatic three outs.

Miller is under contract through 2029, and there’s no guarantee San Diego Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller will trade him at the deadline. He might have to be blown away by a package to consider moving Miller.

In this proposal, the Padres would receive two major leaguers, Warren and Domínguez, and two prospects. Warren has the potential to be a mid-rotation starter, while Domínguez has not yet lived up to his prospect hype. Kilby is one of the Yankees’ best infield prospects, while Hess projects as a back-end starter with big strikeout numbers. — Kirschner

Bowden: The Padres say no.

I believe the Padres would reject this trade offer even though it’s a solid proposal with four quality players in the return. Warren could go right into the Padres’ rotation and Hess could be a fifth starter in a couple of years, while Domínguez and Kilby have potential of being, at a minimum, quality everyday players.

Kilby has perhaps the highest upside of this foursome. His inclusion in the deal makes it a strong, compelling offer worthy of serious consideration by San Diego. However, if I’m the Padres, I would counter by asking for shortstop George Lombard Jr. and right-hander Carlos Lagrange (pending medical reports).

The Padres traded Leo De Vries, one of the top prospects in baseball, to land Miller last year from the Athletics, and although Lombard profiles as a potential future star, he’s not quite at the level of De Vries. Lagrange, when healthy, has the ceiling of Miller, but it’s far from certain he’ll ever get there. I would try to get both for a proven impact player such as Miller who is under club control for three-plus years. — Bowden

Yankees get: RP Adrián Morejón

Padres get: SP Elmer Rodríguez, SP Bryce Cunningham

We’ll stick with San Diego for a second. The Padres’ rotation has been a mess this season, ranking bottom five in fWAR and ERA. They need as much starting pitching as possible.

Rodríguez likely projects as a back-end starter in the majors, while Cunningham is a 23-year-old with a 4.63 ERA this season in High A. Rodríguez has made four spot starts for the Yankees but hasn’t looked impressive because his command wasn’t crisp. That deviates from what he’s known for. If his command is on, he can have success in the big leagues.

The addition of Morejón, an impending free agent, would give the Yankees a formidable back end of the bullpen with David Bednar closing games, Morejón as the eighth-inning reliever and Brent Headrick and Fernando Cruz deployable in fireman roles. — Kirschner

Bowden: Both teams say yes.

The Yankees’ bullpen has been solid, but adding Morejón would make it more dominant and boost the team’s postseason outlook and potential matchups, making its pen much deeper and stronger for a playoff run.

The Padres need to rebuild their rotation, and acquiring two future back-of-the-rotation starters, each with six years of club control, for Morejón, a two-month rental, should be a no-brainer, even though San Diego is still in the National League wild-card race. — Bowden

Yankees get: SS CJ Abrams

Nationals get: SP Will Warren, SP Elmer Rodríguez, SP Chase Hampton

The Washington Nationals have already traded Curtis Mead to the Boston Red Sox for left-hander Connelly Early. Still, they desperately need more pitching.

This proposed move would give the Nats a ready-made starter (Warren) plus someone who would likely slot into their rotation now (Rodríguez). Hampton was a former top-10 prospect for the Yankees, but he underwent Tommy John surgery last year and has struggled in his first season back. Washington would hope to revitalize Hampton as he gets further removed from surgery.

The Yankees, meanwhile, desperately need more offense. They have a bottom-five offense since Judge landed on the injured list in early June, and now Bellinger will miss time with a hamstring strain. Abrams, who is under contract through 2029, could play third base this season and move to second base next year. Second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. will be a free agent after this season, and Abrams could be an excellent replacement if the Yankees don’t re-sign Chisholm. — Kirschner

Bowden: The Nationals say no.

Abrams is having another banner season, hitting .297 with 27 homers, 17 steals and an MLB-leading 82 RBIs. He’s been worth 4.3 WAR, according to Baseball Reference. However, the Nationals haven’t been able to extend him long-term, so they will at least listen to trade offers.

That said, for the Yankees to get in on a deal for Abrams, they would have to start the conversation by offering Lombard, then adding Warren. That is probably along the lines of what it would take for Washington to even consider trading the two-time All-Star to the Bronx. — Bowden

Yankees get: C Ryan Jeffers

Twins get: SS Anthony Volpe, RP Camilo Doval

Ryan Jeffers would give the Yankees more consistent offense from the catcher position. (Jason Miller / Getty Images)

Yankees catcher Austin Wells has swung the bat better over the past two weeks, but the club remains in the market for an offensive upgrade.

Jeffers is the most logical catching target for the Yankees because of his relationship with Tanner Swanson, the club’s director of catching. Swanson was a key figure in the Minnesota Twins’ decision to draft Jeffers in 2018. Jeffers will be a free agent after this season, so this move would also give the Yankees a stretch run to determine if he could also be a longer-term fit.

In return, the Twins would get two change-of-scenery candidates in Volpe and Doval. It appears Volpe’s time with the Yankees might be running out, with the imminent promotion of Lombard, and Doval has been reduced to a low-leverage role in the bullpen. Doval, an All-Star in 2023, is under club control through next year, so maybe the Twins could revive him. — Kirschner

Bowden: Both sides say yes.

The Yankees need more offense, especially from the right side of the plate, and Jeffers would be a perfect fit for them. After missing about two months with a hamate bone fracture, he’s healthy and has posted a .930 OPS this season, with nine homers in 157 at-bats.

Volpe, 25, needs a change of scenery, and with more than two years of remaining club control, it’s a risk worth taking for the Twins, especially considering Jeffers is an impending free agent. From the Yankees’ standpoint, Lombard is ready for a promotion to replace Volpe, and they would still have José Caballero as an option at shortstop.

In addition, the Twins have identified relievers as their biggest need at the trade deadline, so taking a chance on Doval makes a lot of sense for them, as he might have a better chance to excel in a smaller market. Bottom line: I think this trade, conceptually, works for both sides. — Bowden

Yankees get: OF Lane Thomas

Royals get: OF Jace Avina, RHP Eric Reyzelman

The Yankees made a similar move at last season’s trade deadline when they acquired Austin Slater from the Chicago White Sox. Like Slater, Thomas is a platoon bat who hits left-handed pitching well. The Yankees could use a righty-hitting outfielder off their bench. Thomas will be a free agent after this season, so the price to land him should not be too steep.

Avina and Reyzelman are ranked as the club’s 20th and 28th top prospects, respectively, by MLB Pipeline. They are Rule 5 draft-eligible after this season, and neither player likely has a path to making the Yankees’ 40-man roster. — Kirschner

Bowden: Both sides say yes.

I really like this trade for the Yankees because Thomas rakes against left-handed pitching (career OPS against them: .850) and can play all three outfield positions. He is a fourth outfielder and platoon-type, making him a good fit on this team.

This would be an overpay for the Yankees; I think Avina straight-up would be a fair deal. However, it’s a sellers’ market, so teams will have to overpay at this deadline, and getting Reyzelman included makes it easy for the Royals to close the deal. — Bowden

>

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Sports

Manchester United complete signing of Swansea goalkeeper Kit Margetson

Published

3 minutes ago

on

July 28, 2026

By

Kit Margetson, wearing a green Manchester United-branded top, smiles while holding a pen over his new contract with the club.

Margetson’s Swansea contract expired this summer and he announced earlier this month that he would be leaving the club. Poppy Townson – MUFC

Manchester United have completed the signing of goalkeeper Kit Margetson, 20, from Swansea after agreeing a compensation package with the Championship club.

Margetson’s Swansea contract expired this summer and he announced earlier this month that he would be leaving the club. Swansea are due compensation from United because of the part they played in developing Margetson, who joined their academy at Under-15 level.

The teenager did not make a first-team appearance for Swansea but had a first taste of senior football on loan at Connah’s Quay Nomads last season, helping the Welsh side to qualify for European competition.

Margetson made his Wales Under-21s debut against Belarus in March.

The move comes after his father Martyn – who played for United’s rivals Manchester City in the 1990s and was England’s goalkeeping coach under former manager Gareth Southgate – left his role as Swansea’s head of goalkeeping at the end of last season.

Connections: Sports Edition Logo

Connections: Sports Edition Logo

Connections: Sports Edition

Spot the pattern. Connect the terms

Find the hidden link between sports terms

>

Continue Reading

Sports

Stanford football players move toward creating collective bargaining unit, with long way to go

Published

13 minutes ago

on

July 28, 2026

By

Stanford football players have formed the first chapter of the College Football Players Association led by active athletes, the CFBPA announced Monday, an initial step toward creating a body that could develop into a collective bargaining unit.

An initial step, but with a long way to go.

Though collective bargaining with athletes is an idea that has gained traction within major college sports as it becomes more professionalized — SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said last week he was open-minded to the concept — there is no real framework to do so and no clear answer to the key question: With whom will the athletes bargain?

CFPBA founder and executive director Jason Stahl, a former faculty member at the University of Minnesota, believes the answer eventually should be the conferences.

“We are very optimistic that other chapters will be announced soon,” Stahl told The Athletic.

The CFBPA was founded five years ago as an athlete advocacy group, with a goal of organizing players at the major college level.

Stanford athletes have been communicating with Stahl for more than a year.

The CFBPA declined to provide an exact number of players who officially joined the chapter, but in late June, Stahl held a voluntary informational meeting with Stanford players at the school’s Palo Alto, Calif., campus that was attended by more than 50 members of the team.

Fifth-year offensive lineman Fisher Anderson and fifth-year linebacker Ernest Cooper were elected as player representatives by their teammates.

“We (at Stanford) have always had a pretty tight relationship with the NFL Players Association,” Anderson said on a podcast produced by the CFBPA. “Last year when this opportunity came about, it made me think if this is something that has had such a benefit on the National Football League, could it be done on the college football level?”

“Whenever I leave those meetings (with the NFLPA) I think, ‘Why don’t we have one of those?’” Stanford third-year defensive lineman Benedict Umeh told The Athletic.

As a bipartisan bill intended to bring national compensation standards and antitrust protections to the NCAA and college conferences struggles to get through Congress, some college sports leaders have suggested collective bargaining with athletes as a way to stabilize the industry and become compliant with antitrust laws without government intervention.

“Standardization is necessary,” Umeh said. “The congressional bill could serve toward that purpose, give us the legal scaffolding to get everything in place. The issue with a congressional bill, in my eyes, is the players don’t get much of a say at all.”

College athletes’ unionization has been an ongoing discussion for more than a decade, and every previous movement has sparked a national firestorm and then petered out one way or another.

In 2014, Northwestern football players tried to form a union. Led by college athlete advocate and former UCLA football player Ramogi Huma, an organization called the College Players Association filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago on behalf of football players at Northwestern.

The players said they were effectively employees of the private school and should be permitted to unionize. The petition was eventually rejected by the NLRB.

In 2020, another athlete organizing movement arose, initiated by Pac-12 players who were concerned about conference leaders’ decisions on whether college football should be played during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stahl was active in that movement and started the CFBPA in 2021.

Dartmouth’s men’s basketball team voted to form a union, saying — like Northwestern football players — they should be treated as employees of the school. Dartmouth and the Ivy League tried to thwart those efforts, disputing the athletes’ claims.

The movement ended in 2025 when the petition was withdrawn by the Service Employees International Union, citing the anticipated change in leadership at the NLRB under the Trump administration. Republican leaders have generally been less sympathetic to unionization efforts of all types.

In 2022, Stahl tried to organize players at Big Ten schools in the hope they could negotiate for improved long-term medical benefits and, possibly, a share of conference revenue. Some traction was made, notably at Penn State, but ultimately nothing substantive came from it.

Another group, Athletes.org, has also been working in recent years to organize athletes and created an online platform where athletes from similar sports can connect.

The question of whether college athletes, especially those who compete in the revenue-generating sports of football and basketball, should be treated as employees remains open, especially with schools now permitted to directly pay athletes as part of a revenue-sharing arrangement implemented last year.

Still, technically, athletes are not being paid to play. They are being compensated for their name, image and likeness and treated as independent contractors.

“The schools are paying us to play,” Umeh said.

State labor laws vary widely, so a model in which athletes bargain with their schools would likely fall short of creating a national standard.

Stahl and the CFPBA have acknowledged that and said ideally players who compete at the highest levels of Division I football would form local chapters and collectively bargain with their conferences.

“College football players deserve a meaningful voice in the decisions that shape their athletic, academic and economic futures,” Stahl said. “Stanford football is the first of what the CFBPA envisions as 17 ACC football chapters, creating the framework for conference-wide player representation and, ultimately, collective bargaining.”

>

Continue Reading

Sports

Rosie Eccles aims to sign off career with third Commonwealth medal

Published

19 minutes ago

on

July 28, 2026

By

Jones became the youngest British boxer to fight at the Olympics in 1976 when he competed in Montreal at 17 years old and four months.

He says Eccles’ mentality helped her to negotiate her challenges, not least the latest “nasty” knee injury and subsequent surgery.

“We weren’t sure whether she was going to box again, but Rosie is the type of person who will never lay down to anything that gets in her way,” he said.

“Nothing is too much, no run is too long and no mountain is too steep.

“She knows how to push through and has come away with gold in the last two tournaments in Europe, which were big achievements.”

Eccles says she has always wanted to go about doing things the right way despite her setbacks.

“I didn’t reach my absolute aim of Olympic gold and sometimes I have those days I [ask] if I have underachieved in my career,” she said.

“But I think the way I’ve gone about my career is the most important thing.

“I wanted to set an example for my nephews and nieces to always push back when things are hard and keep chasing your dreams. That’s why I haven’t retired until now.

“I would only want to go to LA [the next Olympics] if I had a chance to win a medal.

“In terms of effort and dedication and graft, I know there’s nothing more I could have done.

“Someone asked me what have I got to gain any more. Actually knowing I’ve given everything to the end.”

>

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2017 Zox News Theme. Theme by MVP Themes, powered by WordPress.