On April 29th, the Yankees designated a player for assignment.  Interestingly, it’s the only time they have done that all season (even more interestingly, this trade could lead to it happening again).  They designated Randal Grichuk, their fourth outfielder, to open up a spot for Elmer Rodriguez to make a spot start.  A week later, Elmer was back in the minors.  At the time, there was no reason to release Grichuk.  He had a slash line of .194/.212/.323, but he had just started hitting, and he was signed late in spring training.  For the Chicago White Sox, Grichuk has a .276/.313/.567 slash line.  After three months of playing infielders in the outfield, Cashman finally moved to plug that hole.  The question is, did he give up too much?

Is Heliot Ramos a good hitter?

Let’s start with the basics.  The Yankees struggle against left-handed pitchers because they have a ton of left-handed hitters.  They desperately needed a solid right-handed bat.  That is Heliot Ramos.  Ramos has a .264/.304/.424 slash line on the season.  For his career, he has a .257/.316/.419 slash line.  So, what he has done in 2026 is what he has done for his career.  He is also a hitter who hits well against lefties, as he has a .292/.343/.492 slash line against left-handed pitchers.

Is controllability the key?

When you look at what Cashman has done historically at the deadline, he has gone for controllable players as opposed to rentals.  Ramos is not a free agent until 2030.  He only costs $810k for the 2026 season.  Ramos is a young outfielder who should be a Yankee for several years.  He could be an everyday player, or he could simply be the fourth outfielder.  In either case, he is a cheap addition to the team, in terms of money.

Did the Yankees give up too much for him?

In this trade, the Yankees did give up two valuable players to get the right-handed outfielder they have sorely missed.  The Yankees traded their 5th and 15th prospects, left-handed pitcher Henry Lalane and infielder Kaeden Kent.  It’s a very high price balanced against team control over Ramos.  Both prospects have the potential to turn into big leaguers, so it is not a slam dunk trade.

Who loses their roster spot?

This is the big question, and we will find out the answer tomorrow.  Max Schuemann was already sent down for Garcia Jr.  So, the candidates to be sent down are Spencer Jones, Jasson Dominguez, or Anthony Volpe.  They could also cut Paul Goldschmidt or Amed Rosario.  The Yankees tend not to like to cut players (unless they are Grichuk, and perhaps they have learned from that mistake).  My money would be on Anthony Volpe, because he will go down for George Lombard Jr. anyway.  So, you will likely need another hitter to go down.  I think they will likely send down Jasson Dominguez.  The question around who gets sent down clouds the grade for this trade, along with the prospects they parted with; ultimately, this is a C trade.