Yankees linked to 'realistic' trade target in Diamondbacks' .758 OPS catcher

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Yankees linked to 'realistic' trade target in Diamondbacks' .758 OPS catcher originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The New York Yankees are in dire need of some catching help this season, as the current rotation of catchers isn't performing well enough at all.

So far this season, Yankees catchers have a .526 OPS. That's simply not good enough for a club eyeing a World Series title. Trading for one at this year's deadline makes a ton of sense.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic linked the Yankees to a few different catcher options, one of which is a very intriguing .758 OPS catcher from the Arizona Diamondbacks in Gabriel Moreno.

Yankees linked to interesting Gabriel Moreno trade​

"However, I think more realistic options include Ryan Jeffers of the Twins (once he gets healthy, Agustin Ramirez of the Marlins, Joey Bart of the Pirates, Carson Kelly of the Cubs, Gabriel Moreno of the Diamondbacks, and Keibert Ruiz of the Nationals," Bowden writes.

There are a lot of possible catcher options that Bowden is linking the Yankees to this summer, but of this group, Moreno is the most intriguing.

A lot of those other catchers are veterans on expiring deals who will hit free agency following the 2026 season. Moreno is not that, as he's still only 26 years old and under club control through the 2028 season.

This season, Moreno has a .787 OPS for the Diamondbacks, which has raised his career OPS to .758. He's posted 10.6 bWAR in 364 games the last five years, and after a down 2025 season due to missing a lot of time due to injury, he's back thriving this year.

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He has 43 hits, 11 doubles, six homers, 24 RBIs, and a solid 19-walk to 34-strikeout ratio. Moreno is significantly better than Austin Wells and the backup Yankees catchers.

The Diamondbacks might not even sell this summer, and even if they do, and Moreno is on the move, he's going to be a very costly acquisition.

But, if there were a player who would be worth splurging on that's not the top catcher in MLB, like Colorado Rockies' Hunter Goodman, Moreno would be a great trade target.

While Bowden is calling Moreno a "realistic" trade target for the Yankees, he's going to be very difficult for the Yankees to actually acquire.

More MLB news:​

• 5 reasons to believe in Jordan Walker's breakout for Cardinals
• Ex-MLB GM projects White Sox to sell at trade deadline despite 2026 success
• Tarik Skubal being traded by Tigers would help him in free agency
• Cubs’ cost to trade for Tarik Skubal from Tigers revealed by ex-MLB GM
• Phillies extending Cristopher Sanchez to his $107 million deal was genius

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