The Yankees are interested in Thairo Estrada

THE Yankees are interested in signing Thairo EstradaMark Feinsand of MLB.com reports (link X). New York is now the second known team to be on the market for Estrada, as the Rockies were also linked to the veteran earlier this week.

There is a lot of familiarity between the two sides, as Estrada was an international signing for the Yankees in 2012 and appeared in 61 games with New York during his first two major league seasons (2019-20). It wasn’t until the Yankees traded Estrada to the Giants in April 2021 that the infielder became a productive big leaguer, hitting .266/.320/.416 in 1,203 plate appearances for San Francisco during the 2021-23 seasons.

However, Estrada’s performance dropped dramatically last season, and the Giants dropped him from their 40-man roster in late August after Estrada hit just .217/.247/.343 in 381 PA. Wrist issues plagued Estrada for much of the summer, further hampering an offensive approach that never resulted in hard contact. Estrada was also limited in his ability to reach base, and his 2.6% walk rate in 2024 was the second-lowest of any baseball player with at least 350 PAs.

In the wake of this down year, Estrada is definitely not seen as a starting candidate in the Bronx, although his versatility makes him an interesting candidate for a part-time or bench role. Most of Estrada’s playing time in the MLB came at second base, but he saw a fair amount of time at shortstop and also as a third baseman and corner outfielder. Estrada’s career results are pretty even, but on paper his right-handed bat could complement left-handed shots Jazz Chisholm Jr.who should maintain the starting role at second or third base.

Chisholm and the shortstop Antonio Volpe we’re talking about two of the starting infield jobs, and Chisholm’s versatility gives New York some flexibility in deciding how to tackle second or third base. Presumably, the Yankees could add Estrada to their in-house collection of DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo CabreraAND Oswald Peraza and let the entire group serve as a sort of rotary bench/platoon mix as they rotate Chisholm between the keystone and the hot corner. Or, the Bronx Bombers could get bigger with more than one everyday infield option, though those efforts are likely on hold until the Yankees find out whether or not Juan Soto he will return to the team.