Pirates could ruin Yankees' catcher trade plans

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The New York Yankees certainly need some catcher help before the MLB trade deadline.

The Pittsburgh Pirates might just have a chance to ruin that, though.

That's the case laid out by ESPN's Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel in a new article on Wednesday. They've got Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers on their trade ranking list as someone who could be on the move. The Yankees have been commonly linked.

The Pirates, though? That's new.

"The Yankees are the obvious match," Passan and McDaniel write. "Other options could emerge, including the Pirates if Endy Rodriguez doesn't continue raking and the same for the Padres and Luis Campusano. And Jeffers certainly has the bat to carry at DH. This one might take time to develop as Minnesota seeks leverage."

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Nothing will happen too soon, because Jeffers is currently injured.

"Jeffers should return from a hamate bone fracture well before the deadline, and he's clearly the best catcher available," the ESPN duo writes. "Few contending teams are actively interested in acquiring a catcher, which muddies the situation slightly."

The Twins are out of it, and Jeffers is on an expiring contract, so it's safe to expect this to happen eventually.

ESPN sets the odds of Jeffers being traded at 85%. It'd be a shock if he wasn't.

The Yankees have been rumored all along because of the struggles of Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra.

The Pirates have had a lot of variety in their catching setup in recent years -- a guy like Jeffers could really stabilize things.

It'd certainly be a fun win for the small clubs if the Pirates picked up a key acquisition by beating out the Yankees.

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