Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' Voit Drawing Trade Interest From Multiple Teams Ahead of Deadline

The New York Yankees are reportedly drawing trade interest for 1B Luke Voit ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline. Voit is nearing his return from the injured list

Max Goodman

ST. PETERSBURG — The Yankees just added one of the most coveted sluggers on the market, trading for Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo. Could their next move be to flip one of their biggest bats in another blockbuster?

Yankees first baseman Luke Voit has "drawn interest" in trade conversations with multiple teams, per Jack Curry of the YES Network. 

After Thursday afternoon's blowout loss, Jon Heyman of MLB Network added that the Yankees could trade Voit as a way to clear some salary room as they look to possibly make other moves and try to stay under the luxury tax. 

Voit is currently working his way back from his third stint on the injured list of the season, sidelined this time with left knee inflammation. He's already missed time due to left knee surgery (to repair a partial meniscus tear) and a right oblique strain, limiting him to just 29 games played this year.

The first baseman actually stepped in for some live at-bats against Luis Severino on Thursday afternoon, participating in the right-hander's simulated game. Yankees manager Aaron Boone recently revealed that Voit is very close to his return from the IL, expecting the slugger back in the lineup before the end of New York's road trip later this weekend. 

Even with the health concerns from Voit this year, surely other teams are intrigued about the prospect of adding his power to their lineup down the stretch. Voit ended up leading Major League Baseball in 2020 with 22 home runs, the most he's hit in a single season in his career. He did it in just 56 games.

All things considered, Voit has been a revelation for New York since he came over from St. Louis in a trade in 2018. The slugger has posted a .274/.367/.522 slash line over 242 games in a Yankees uniform, whacking 60 long balls in that span. 

Additional moves will surely have an impact on the Yankees' alignment going forward, but perhaps New York would be willing to part ways with Voit and his recent injury woes, moving DJ LeMahieu over to first base full-time. Especially if New York happens to add an infielder before the Deadline, Voit could be the odd man out. 

Besides, before Thursday afternoon's game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone alluded to the possibility of more moves being made before Friday's Deadline. His conversations with general manager Brian Cashman about the organization's plan are ongoing. 

"Talking to Cash this morning. They're set up in the war room already. I know still exploring things," Boone said. "I wouldn't rule anything out."

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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