By far, first base has been the Yankees’ least productive position in 2018. Though Greg Bird, Neil Walker and Tyler Austin have had their moments this season, they’ve been largely underwhelming. At the trade deadline, the Yankees had to try something to improve the club’s poor production from such an integral power position.
Enter Luke Voit, a classic “Quad-A” player. Voit’s stats at the minor league level were exemplary, but he hadn’t done much when given a chance in the bigs with the Cardinals. With the Cardinals seeking relief help and the Yankees needing a first baseman, a trade made perfect sense.