Harrison Bader is not in the Yankees lineup today, and here's the latest on what that means for a potential trade.
On MLB trade deadline day, a player not showing up in a team's lineup will always trigger some sort of speculation from the world. Could it mean the player is part of a deal about to go down? Could it mean that there's something in the works around that player but just not done yet?
As the deadline nears in just a few hours, lineups for tonight's game are coming out and catching fan's eyes.
One such move was outfielder Harrison Bader being out of the Yankees lineup for Tuesday.
Harrison Bader not currently being discussed in MLB trade talks
Robert Murray on The Baseball Insiders checked in on the exclusion from the lineup and had this to say:
"I checked on that. From everything that I am told, it was a scheduled day off. That does not have to do with a potential trade. I will say that the Yankees are listening on their guys on expiring contracts, so it's certainly possible that he's moved within the next 2.5 hours. But the fact that he's not in the lineup does not have to do with a trade right now."
So as of right now, it doesn't look like Bader is being traded. At least, the lineup move doesn't appear to be related if he is wound up sent away.
The Yankees, languishing for the last month-plus, are in a tough spot right now. Selling doesn't make a ton of sense for a franchise like New York, but buying doesn't either. Their placement in the AL East prohibits them from winning a division title because two if not three teams will almost certainly finish with far better records.
Bader is an unrestricted free agent in 2024, but his recent injury history could keep teams from paying what Brian Cashman and the Yankees would be looking for.
