When Cody Bellinger joined Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list, the Yankees outfield that was so deep former top prospect Jasson Domínguez started the season in Triple-A has become perilously thin. Suddenly, with the Martian who has flashed the bat on both sides of the plate but has yet to put it all together, the strikeout-prone Spencer Jones, and a trio of infielders in José Caballero, Max Schuemann, and Amed Rosario sharing the corner outfield spots, the idea of adding a rental
outfielder simply to get through the month of August has become a very real possibility — perhaps even an inevitability.
Over the last few years, the Yankees have acquired a number of former Rockies players, trading for Ryan McMahon and Jake Bird at last year’s deadline, Angel Chivilli over the winter, and Mike Tauchman in 2019, and signing DJ LeMahieu and Adam Ottavino as free agents. While most of the attention has surrounded catcher Hunter Goodman, might Mickey Moniak, who will remain under team control through the end of next season, be the latest former Rockie to head to the Bronx?
2026 Statistics (Thus Far): 71 games, 264 plate appearances, .279/.322/.561, 123 wRC+, 126 OPS+, 17 HR, 12 2B, 3 3B, 1 SB, 1.3 fWAR, 0.7 rWAR
2026 ZiPS Rest-of-Season Statistics: 39 games, 240 plate appearances, .267/.311/.504, 106 wRC+, 0.3 fWAR
Originally drafted first overall by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2016 MLB Draft, Mickey Moniak’s career has largely played out exactly how you might expect for somebody who was taken at the top of “one of the worst [drafts] in recent memory.” After receiving a $6.1 million signing bonus, he steadily climbed through the Phillies system despite unspectacular performance at the plate, ultimately making his MLB debut as a pinch-runner on September 16, 2020, during the COVID-shortened campaign. He spent the 2021 season bouncing between Triple-A and the bigs, made the roster out of spring training in 2022, then began the season on the injured list after fracturing his hand in the final exhibition game. Later that year, he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels for Noah Syndergaard at the Trade Deadline; he only played 47 games and made 105 plate appearances with the team that drafted him.
Moniak spent the next two seasons with the Halos, putting together a strong campaign in 2023 in which he slashed .280/.307/.495 (115 wRC+) and a replacement-level 2024 in which he slashed .219/.266/.380 (80 wRC+). After beating the Angels during arbitration ahead of the 2025 season, he was released with termination pay despite the fact he was penciled in as the team’s starting center fielder; a few days later, he signed with the Colorado Rockies, with whom he has spent the last season and a half.
Now on his third team, and without the pressure of living up to either the first overall pick or a major trade acquisition, Moniak has finally begun to carve out a real role for himself. Across the last two years, he has a .273 .312 .534 slash line (115 wRC+) with 41 home runs, 32 doubles, and 10 stolen bases. When we dive into Moniak’s splits over that stretch, though, we find some interesting trends:
vs. RHP: 614 plate appearances, .282/.319/.570, 126 wRC+, 38 home runs, 22.8 K%, 4.9 BB%
vs. LHP: 111 plate appearances, .218/.270/.327, 51 wRC+, 3 home runs, 33.3 K%, 5.4 BB%
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been hearing quite a bit that the Yankees have been looking to add a right-handed outfielder, which makes Moniak not exactly an easy fit. The Bellinger injury, however, changes the math. At this moment, the only healthy Yankee hitters with a wRC+ of 100 or better against right-handed pitchers (minimum 100 plate appearances) are Ben Rice (174 wRC+ in 289 plate appearances), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (107 in 268), and Trent Grisham (100 in 254).
The Yankees need offensive help against both righties and lefties, and while I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Domínguez recapture the lefty stroke that saw him slash .274/.348/.420 against right-handed pitchers last season, Jones to build on his strong-ish start against righties (he has a 103 wRC+ in 71 plate appearances), or Wells continue to come around at the plate (he has an .842 OPS since July 9th), well … that’s too many “ifs” to count on. While Moniak isn’t exactly a sure thing, either — he has a .312/.351/.681 slash at Coors Field, compared to a .236/.285/.406 line on the road — there might not be a more sure upgrade available, thanks to Ryan Jeffers likely being off the market.
When I began this post, I fully expected to condemn the idea, writing Moniak off as a Coors Field merchant, and carry on with my day. I still don’t think that he can be the Yankees’ big trade acquisition, either — it remains to be seen just how much of a boost Coors has given him, he doesn’t solve their problems against southpaws, and he doesn’t represent an upgrade at any position when if the team ever gets healthy. But honestly? The Yankees need some reinforcements to get them through August (and, depending on how Bellinger’s and Judge’s rehabs go, potentially longer), and I wouldn’t mind seeing less of Paul Goldschmidt against righties (65 wRC+ in 171 plate appearances). And so, the Trade Deadline can’t end with Moniak, but it can begin with him.
