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The New York Yankees are in a tough position. They aren’t totally sure when Aaron Judge will be back. Even if a doctor decides that he’s healthy enough to play, he still has to ramp up baseball activities. Giancarlo Stanton’s timeline is even less encouraging. He suffered another injury during his build-up, and his return is even more mysterious than Judge’s.
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That leaves the Yankees in a position where they should be rethinking how they look at the deadline. The thought was that upgrading at catcher and the bullpen should be the main focus, but now, another outfielder should be something they consider.
JJ Bleday from the Cincinnati Reds is an intriguing name for the Bombers. One of the selling points of the left-handed slugger is that he comes with a few years of control. Bleday wouldn’t hit the open market until 2029.
JJ Bleday crushes a no-doubter to tie things back up pic.twitter.com/QNluEH45PM
– MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2026
The Reds got him at a bargain when the Athletics cut him loose, and now, since they sit six games behind a wild-card spot and are looking at another lost season, they could flip him for a better package from the Yankees. It wouldn’t be one of the heavy hitters like George Lombard Jr., Dax Kilby, Ben Hess, or Carlos Lagrange, but something along the lines of a Kyle Carr. It could also be Carr, plus another top prospect in the Yankees’ 6 to 15 range on the prospect boards.
What would JJ Bleday bring to the Yankees
Bleday won’t just be there to fill Judge’s spot for now and provide offense that is above league average, but he is also an instant upgrade from the two guys at the top of the outfield depth chart, Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones. Plus, one or both of those guys might be gone by the time August 4th rolls around, so they’ll require an outfielder at that point anyway.
The most important thing about Bleday, though, is that he would boost the Yankees’ lineup depth, which becomes a black hole once you get past Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice, and Trent Grisham at the top of the lineup. For Bleday’s bounce-back year, he’s hitting .243/.351/.486 with a 124 wRC+. He has 16 home runs and 43 RBI.
Outside of his pop, Bleday is a tough at-bat. He has a 13.8% walk rate and a decent 19.9% strikeout rate. Bleday also sees 3.9 pitches per plate appearance, which is a tick below the 4 P/PA that Trent Grisham has.
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A deal like this is important because the Yankees should be operating with the assumption that when Judge returns, he will be a designated hitter. They should also be looking at a post-Stanton world.
Given Stanton’s injury history and the fact that this is one of the longer periods he has missed, it’s hard to really count on him. What’s to say he comes back and gets injured again?
Bleday would be a moderately priced add, but he’s at least under control for the next few years. If Grisham falls out of their price range next season, they would feel much more comfortable letting him head elsewhere if Bleday is there. He’s a sneaky, under-the-radar type of deal that would improve the Yankees not only this season, but for the next few.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/yankees/onsi as Reds Outfielder Could Be Band-Aid for Yankees Until Aaron Judge Returns.
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This story was originally published July 20, 2026 at 8:30 AM.