New York’s infield chaos has the Yankees proposed to look at a trade for Corey Seager, and a framework with Texas may be forming before the Aug. 3 deadline.
Second base and shortstop both sit unresolved for New York, and adding a $325 million shortstop would force a rebuild of the left side of the infield.
The Yankees sit at 53-42, chasing the Tampa Bay Rays atop the American League East while holding onto a wild card spot, according to Pinstripes Nation‘s Esteban Quiñones. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is playing out his final guaranteed year at second base, and Anthony Volpe and Jose Caballero have been trading turns at shortstop depending on health and matchups.
Corey Seager’s Trade Value Amid a Rough Season
Volpe is hitting .242 with one home run in 42 games, a thin return for a former Gold Glove winner, and neither he nor Caballero has forced a permanent decision at short. Chisholm, meanwhile, is not shy about his price for a new deal.
“I’m 28. I want 8-to-10 years,” Chisholm said, as quoted by Quiñones. “I know I can get $35 million somewhere else.”
The instability created by the Volpe and Chisholm combination may be pushing New York toward Seager, and his below-the-surface numbers explain why. On one hand, he’s hitting .182 with 10 home runs, 25 RBI and a .667 OPS this season. On the other, his .336 expected weighted on-base average, 91.1 mph average exit velocity, 44.6 percent hard-hit rate and 15.4 percent barrel rate tell a different and more promising story, according to ClutchPoints‘ Josh Davis.
Seager, a Charlotte, North Carolina, native, was drafted 18th overall by the Dodgers in 2012, and has since made five All-Star teams and won two World Series MVP awards, one with Los Angeles in 2017 and one with Texas in 2023. That makes him one of only two non-pitchers ever to win multiple World Series MVPs. The other is Reggie Jackson.
He’s a career .284 hitter with 231 home runs across parts of 12 seasons, and he’s signed through 2031 on a 10-year, $325 million deal that makes any trade a franchise-level commitment rather than a two-month rental.
What a New York Yankees Package for Corey Seager Could Look Like
One possible framework sees Volpe going to Texas as the piece that makes the trade work, since top Rangers prospect Sebastian Walcott isn’t ready to take over shortstop yet. Volpe would give Texas a controllable bridge at the position rather than block its long-term future there.
Beyond Volpe, a near-ready power-hitting outfielder and a hard-throwing upper-level pitching prospect could round out the package, according to Pinstripes Nation, with roughly $7 million to $12 million coming back from Texas to offset some of Seager’s remaining money. Keeping George Lombard Jr., Dax Kilby and Carlos Lagrange out of any offer remains a realistic option precisely because New York would already be absorbing so much in dollars and luxury-tax exposure.
The Rangers remain in the thick of the AL West race, which makes moving a two-time champion a harder call internally than a typical deadline dump, and reports indicate the club has largely rebuffed inquiries so far. Boston, Atlanta and Seattle have also surfaced as suitors.
Seager’s limited no-trade protections, his back issues and his standing in that Texas clubhouse all complicate the path further, and neither side has said anything about trade talks. But with two infield spots still unsettled in the Bronx, the Yankees have both the motivation and a plausible framework to make the call.
Yankees Proposed to Trade for $325 Million Rangers Shortstop Corey Seager