Reds have the perfect Yankees trade target nobody is talking about

The Cincinnati Reds have a huge opportunity in front of them ahead of the August 3 trade deadline. The club has a plethora of useful pieces on expiring contracts that they can sell off and get some real young assets back.

If they execute well, they could wind up with a treasure chest of high-potential prospects coming back into the system. One of these chips that could net a huge return is Tyler Stephenson.

The New York Yankees are hunting for a right-handed-hitting catcher to boost their lineup. Their situation is dire. Of all hitters with at least 200 plate appearances, Yankees' starting catcher Austin Wells' 42 wRC+ is the second-worst mark in the league.

Wells had missed roughly two weeks, going on the IL with cervical headaches in early June, and there was some hope that he'd rebound offensively once he had recovered. Instead, in the time since he returned on June 21, he's been even worse, slashing .122/.140/.265, which is good for a 4 wRC+. Yes, four.

New York pines to land Hunter Goodman of the Colorado Rockies or Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins, but MLB insider Bob Nightengale reports that the Rockies aren't planning on trading Goodman and the Twins have no intention of moving Jeffers unless they fall out of the race. Currently, Minnesota is just three games back of the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central lead and is tied with the Seattle Mariners for the final AL wild card spot at 48-49.

So, with the Yankees' desperation growing and a dearth of alternatives, Nick Krall could essentially call up New York's general manager, Brian Cashman, and name his price.

Reds could cash in big by trading Tyler Stephenson to the Yankees

At face value, Stephenson's .238/.319/.361 line doesn't seem to be great shakes. Sure, his 86 wRC+ is lightyears better than what Wells has done, but it's a far cry from Jeffers (162 wRC+) and Goodman (118 wRC+). With that said, Stephenson has a track record of above-average offensive production for a backstop, but the reasons the Yankees should be intrigued go beyond that.

The soon-to-be-30-year-old has some encouraging underlying metrics. His .429 xSLG is significantly better than his actual mark. His 90.5 miles per hour average exit velocity is a 72nd percentile performance, while his 44.6% hard-hit rate ranks in the 69th percentile. Combine those two metrics with a 40.4% launch angle sweet spot percentage (94th percentile), and it's easy to make the case that by hitting the ball hard and frequently at good angles, he's been incredibly unlucky this year.

Put another way, Stephenson's .304 wOBA isn't all that awe-inspiring, but his .331 xwOBA paints the picture of an above-average hitter, regardless of position.

Furthermore, Stephenson is an elite pitch blocker, ranking in the 100th percentile in pitch blocking runs, which is a significant improvement over the slightly-above-average Wells.

Now, here's where things get really interesting. The Yankees are known for their pitching talent, and they certainly have a lot of arms. They also have some intriguing outfield prospects, and that is something that Cincinnati desperately needs.

The Yankees 6-foot-7 slugging center fielder Spencer Jones would be the dream, but given that it was reported last year that he was untouchable in trades for anyone other than Paul Skenes, it's not realistic that they'd move him for Stephenson.

But in Double-A, they have a breakout youngster by the name of Jace Avina. The 23-year-old is hitting .269/.357/.535 with 17 dingers and could be on the verge of a Triple-A promotion. Originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021, Avina is the Yankees' No. 19 prospect and could be in play to make his major league debut in 2027.

Add in an arm like Kyle Carr or Cade Smith from the middle of their prospect rankings, and you could probably swing a deal that would inject close-to-MLB-ready talent into the Reds' system while getting the Yankees a real solution to their greatest need.

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