The New York Yankees have a shortstop question, a pitching problem and a payroll to manage. A new trade pitch aimed at the Yankees and Houston Astros and published Monday on Baseball Trade Values would address all three needs at once. Or try to, at least.
The Yankees would send third baseman Ryan McMahon and pitchers Elmer Rodríguez and Ryan Weathers to the Houston Astros for shortstop Jeremy Peña and right-hander Tatsuya Imai. The Astros’ side totals a surplus value of 20.5, according to Baseball Trade Values. The Yankees’ side comes to minus-0.20.
Weathers rates at 17.8 and Rodríguez at 12.2, while McMahon sits at minus-9.5. For New York, Peña grades at 27.6 and Imai at minus-27.8.
Can Tatsuya Imai Be Fixed by the Yankees System?
Imai, 28, was a star for Japan’s Saitama Seibu Lions before signing a three-year, $54 million deal with Houston last winter. His first MLB season ended with a 4.93 ERA across 76 2/3 innings, with 15 starts among 23 appearances, a 28.7% strikeout rate and a 15.1% walk rate. No pitcher with at least 70 innings walked hitters more often. The Yankees would need to be confident that they could restore Imai to the form he displayed in his days with the Lions to consider the deal.
Peña, 29, was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and is the son of former big leaguer Gerónimo Peña. Drafted by Houston in the third round in 2018 out of the University of Maine, he won the 2022 World Series MVP award as a rookie. He hit .277 with 22 home runs this season.
McMahon, 31, grew up in Yorba Linda, California, and went to the Colorado Rockies in the second round in 2013. The 2024 All-Star joined New York in July 2025 and hit .213 with 11 homers and 41 RBI this year. He is owed $16 million for 2027, and freeing themselves of that overvalued contract is likely to be a Yankees priority this offseason.
Finally, Rodríguez, 23, a Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, native, came from Boston in a December 2024 trade for Carlos Narváez and went 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA. Weathers, 26, the son of former pitcher David Weathers, went 5-8 with a 3.60 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 137 1/3 innings. Rodríguez is now ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Yankees’ top pitching prospect, and No. 2 prospect overall.
Imai’s slider drew a near-40% whiff rate and held opponents to a .167 average. His four-seam fastball allowed a 47% hard-hit rate. He threw those two pitches almost 90% of the time.
Yankees Trade History With Astros
The fixes on the table are a third pitch, more sinkers (the approach that helped Houston’s Hunter Brown) or a bullpen role. In relief, Imai posted a 2.00 ERA over 18 innings, though he still issued 11 walks.
By BTV‘s accounting, Imai is the deal’s heaviest burden with a 9.6 projected value against a $37.3 million salary. New York’s price is Weathers and Rodríguez, whose combined surplus of 30.0 is the largest on Houston’s side. Imai can opt out of his deal, but he is guaranteed $18 million in 2027, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Peña’s bat improves on McMahon’s. The pitching side is less certain, since Imai’s 2026 results are the only major-league evidence.
The Yankees and Astros made 18 trades between 1962 and 2012, according to Pinstripe Alley. Only three followed Houston’s move to the American League, the last being the 2016 Brian McCann deal. The teams have never met in the World Series.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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