The Yankees are among the teams that have inquired with the Cardinals regarding the availability of infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman, according to The Athletic’s Katie Woo. The Yankees join the Dodgers, whose interest in Edman’s services was discussed earlier today, in inquiring after the versatile switch-hitter.
Edman, 29, has yet to make his season debut in the majors after undergoing wrist surgery last fall. The recovery from that surgery has taken much longer than expected, and while he’s begun a rehab assignment at the Double-A level, that’s come entirely as a DH. It seems unlikely that Edman, who hit just .248/.307/.399 in 137 games for the Cardinals last year, would garner much interest from any club as a DH-only player. Any suitor would likely need to be confident of Edman’s ability to play the field for them this year in order to make a deal.
While his health status is something of a question mark, it’s hardly a surprise that the Yankees would be interested in Edman’s services. After all, the versatile defender has experience at every position on the diamond besides first base and catcher and has shown the ability to be a plus glove at each of those positions. That combination of versatility and defensive excellence is rather rare and, in conjunction with a switch-hitting bat that has produced an almost exactly league average wRC+ of 99 throughout his career, it would make Edman a valuable piece for almost any team. The Yankees, who have gotten below average production from virtually every spot in the lineup not occupied by Juan Soto or Aaron Judge this year, are no exception to that.
It may seem as though the recent deal that sent infielder/outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the Bronx would leave the Yankees without much motivation to acquire Edman. After all, Chisholm is another versatile defender who has experience at both shortstop and center field, and his 103 wRC+ this year is significantly better than the 92 wRC+ Edman posted with the Cardinals in 2023. It’s easy to imagine both players co-existing in the same lineup, however. After all, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Brendan Kuty of The Athletic) earlier today that the club plans to use Chisholm at third base when he’s playing the infield. It’s a position that Chisholm has never played before in the majors, but Boone expressed a preference for keeping incumbent second baseman Gleyber Torres (who also has no experience at the hot corner) where he is, at least for the time being.
The addition of Edman, who has 94 games at third in the majors under his belt, could allow the Yankees to add a more experienced glove to the lineup at the hot corner while still providing a significant offensive upgrade over other internal options like DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera. By adding Edman to the mix at third base, the club could either utilize Chisholm as a super-utility type to maximize the club’s offensive production by resting players like Torres and Alex Verdugo against tough matchups, or perhaps the club could even look to deal a bat like Torres or Trent Grisham in order to acquire bullpen help as they’ve been rumored to be considering. Edman could also pair with Chisholm to offer some additional certainty to the Yankees headed into a 2025 season where Soto, Torres, Verdugo, and potentially Anthony Rizzo could all be ticketed for free agency, leaving plenty of holes to fill in the Bronx.
That doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be obstacles to a potential deal, however, even if Edman is healthy enough to be worth acquiring. According to Woo, the Cardinals are believed to be targeting “cost-controlled major-league starting pitching” in return for Edman’s services, with Woo suggesting that St. Louis could target Yankees southpaw Nestor Cortes in return. Cortes, 29, is controlled through the end of the 2025 season just like Edman and has posted a 4.13 ERA with a 3.99 FIP in 22 starts this year.
It’s unclear if the Yankees would be willing to part ways with Cortes or any of their starting pitching options, particularly as rumors swirl surrounding the possibility of them acquiring another arm that would allow them to manage Luis Gil’s innings with a second-half bullpen assignment.