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Colorado Rockies trade rumors: Five teams that could use Trevor Story as a center fielder
On Thursday, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported that at least one MLB is interested in Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story but they are interested in him “with the idea of playing him in center field.”
That is certainly an outside-the-box way of thinking considering that Story has never played a single inning in the outfield in the major leagues or minor leagues. However, as Feinsand noted, Story’s sprint speed is in the 88th percentile so he definitely has the athleticism to do it. The most difficult part will likely be the reads on balls in the outfield.
With that, we have five teams that may be interested in Trevor Story as a center fielder and not a shortstop.
The New York Yankees need to acquire Trevor Story from the Colorado Rockies in the worst way.
The New York Yankees were the favorites to win the American League pennant or the World Series (myself included) but they have been an awful team, by Yankees standards. Read any Yankees publication and you’d think that they are having the worst year not just in franchise history but in baseball history (spoiler: they aren’t). But there’s no denying that they have been a massive disappointment.
The Yankees entered Saturday with a record of 50-46, in third place in the AL East and nine games back of the Boston Red Sox for first place. They were also 4.5 games back of the 2nd AL Wild Card spot.
The Yankees could use Trevor Story at shortstop to replace Gleyber Torres, who has struggled at the plate (.243 AVG, .668 OPS). Their veteran center fielder, 37-year-old Brett Gardner, has been even worse than Torres at the plate (.193 AVG, .624 OPS).
The Yankees always have a slew of other outfield injuries with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton (Judge is on the IL now but Stanton is healthy now). Currently with Judge, outfielders Clint Frazier, Miguel Andujar, Aaron Hicks, Tim Locastro, and Trey Amburgey are on the IL as well.
Our colleagues over at Yanks Go Yard, FanSided’s Yankees site, discussed how Story could be a fit for them in center field in this article from Friday.
So the Yankees could use Story at shortstop or center field and they need a few other healthy position players and pitchers to be running on all cylinders to get to the playoffs.
The Atlanta Braves could also be interested in Trevor Story in center field
The Atlanta Braves are one of the most interesting teams in baseball right now. They are, seemingly, going to be buyers at the trade deadline as they have already traded for outfielder Joc Pederson from the Chicago Cubs. However, the Braves are two games under .500 at 47-49 entering Saturday. They are only five games back in the NL East (the New York Mets are in first place at 51-43).
The Braves have a shortstop for the foreseeable future in Dansby Swanson but he has not been good on offense this year (.237/.293/.448) so Story could, temporarily take over for him there (which is unlikely). But the Braves outfield hasn’t been great, particularly since Ronald Acuna, Jr. tore his ACL just before the All-Star Game. That’s part of the reason why Pederson was acquired.
But center field is still an issue for the Braves. Ender Inciarte had been known as a good defensive but poor offensive player and he has spent a lot of the season on the IL. The Braves DFA’d him on Saturday so the reigns will, at least for now, stay with Guillermo Heredia. Heredia hasn’t been great either, as he is hitting .245 with a .727 OPS on the season. More alarmingly, in the month of June (entering Saturday), he has hit .159 with a .424 OPS.
Overall, the Braves have a wRC+ of 99 on the season, which is 15th in baseball but since Acuna, Jr. injury, they have a wRC+ of 93, which is 21st in baseball. Their center fielders have a wRC+ on the season at 70, which is second-worst in baseball to the next team.
The Milwaukee Brewers could also be a fit for Trevor Story in center field
Earlier this season, the Milwaukee Brewers had a problem at shortstop, so they acquired Willy Adames from the Tampa Bay Rays, who was struggling himself in Tampa (.197 AVG, .625 OPS)
However, the Brewers struck lightning in a bottle, as in 54 games since joining the Brewers, Adames has hit .297 with an OPS of .937, so they really don’t need Story to play shortstop.
But their center field situation is not good, to put it mildly. They have Jackie Bradley, Jr. as their everyday center fielder and while he has never been known to have a great bat, it has been even worse this season, as he is hitting .176 with an OPS of .543. His defense has been above league average but it has declined from his defensive peak of 2016 and 2017.
Lorenzo Cain would be the everyday center fielder for the Brewers but he has been injured for much of the season, including his current IL stint, where he has been out with a hamstring strain since May 31. He is slated to return within the next week or so but he hasn’t been tearing the cover off the ball either.
Story could easily take over for the Brewers in center field to provide them with some much-needed offense (their team wRC+ is 90 on the season, or 22nd in baseball) and Bradley, Jr. or Cain could come off the bench as an outfield defensive replacement.
Our colleagues over at Reviewing the Brew, FanSided’s site for the Milwaukee Brewers, also examined the case for Story becoming their centerfielder earlier today as well.
Trevor Story could also be a center fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are currently four games back of the New York Mets for first place in the NL East as the Phillies have a .500 (48-48) record.
Their everyday shortstop, Didi Gregorius, hasn’t exactly been marvelous at the plate this season (.216 AVG, .673 OPS) and he has been injured a fair amount as well. Their everyday center fielder, Odubel Herrera, has also struggled at the plate (.241 AVG, .686 OPS).
Overall, Philadelphia’s center fielders have a wRC+ of 85, which is 21st in baseball, so there is definitely room for an upgrade there.
Story likely wouldn’t resign with the Phillies long-term as the Phillies have Gregorius and second baseman Jean Segura (who can also play shortstop) locked up long term but if the Phillies wanted to, they probably could since they have the finances to do so.
Earlier today, we took a look at a trade proposal involving Story and the Phillies that the Rockies would never do in a million years but we did discuss a few of the prospects that the Phillies may willing to part with.
The New York Mets may be interested in having Trevor Story for a few reasons
The New York Mets are on the top of this list for a few reasons. Chief among the reasons is that Story could play shortstop in the interim, as their star shortstop Francisco Lindor is on the IL with a grade 2 oblique strain. Considering that he is “week to week” as of this publishing, Story would become their everyday shortstop.
However, assuming Lindor returns by the end of the season, the Mets could easily move Story over to center field.
Entering Saturday, the Mets center fielders had a wRC+ of 85, which is 15 percent below league average and 20th in baseball. The Mets have had a bevy of outfield injuries this year as, at one point, they had five outfielders on the injured list at the same time in May.
Next. The Phillies need Jon Gray more than ever. dark
Currently, they are healthy but right fielder Michael Conforto has struggled all season (.203 AVG, .680 OPS) so the Mets could move center fielder Brandon Nimmo to right field for Conforto and Story into center.
All five teams of these teams (and a few more) could use Story as a shortstop or a center fielder but they have less than one week to decide on that as the trade deadline will be on Friday.