White Sox Slugger Linked to Yankees as Potential Trade Candidate

A scorching hot hitter on the White Sox has been deemed a potential trade candidate for the Yankees.

Grant Young | Jul 6, 2024

Jul 2, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn (25) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

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The New York Yankees are lacking depth in their lineup right now.

A .750 OPS is typically considered average in MLB. And among players with 50 or more at-bats, nobody on the Yankees aside from Aaron Judge (1.135), Juan Soto (1.006), and Giancarlo Stanton (.794) is over that .750 mark this season.

New York is sure to be an active buyer at the trade deadline, and it'd be fair to question whether their current crop of hitters will deliver down the stretch.

MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand mentioned Chicago White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn as a potential trade target for New York.

“It remains to be seen just how much the White Sox sell, but if Chicago is going to do a major teardown and begin a long-term rebuild, Vaughn could bring back a nice package of prospects,” Feinsand wrote in a July 4 article.

“The 26-year-old overcame a poor start to his season, slashing .337/.371/.561 in June (.932 OPS) with six home runs and 20 RBIs in 25 games. With a $3.25 million salary in 2024 and two more years of club control, Vaughn would be appealing to a number of contenders seeking corner-infield help.”

Vaughn, who was the third overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, has a .695 OPS on the 2024 season.

Current Yankees first baseman Ben Rice has performed well enough since the injury of Anthony Rizzo. But adding Vaughn’s right-handed bat would allow manager Aaron Boone to have more flexibility in structuring his lineup to be better suited against a left-handed starter.

Perhaps adding Vaughn before the July 30 trade deadline is all the Yankees would need to kickstart their struggling lineup.

Published Jul 6, 2024

GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.