JJ Bleday Should Be Yankees' Top Trade Target While Aaron Judge Is Injured

JJ Bleday could be a name the New York Yankees look to at the deadline.

Cincinnati Reds left fielder JJ Bleday (22) gestures after hitting a double during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

It does feel like the bullpen will be the place the New York Yankees make their biggest changes to once the deadline rolls around, but if they were ever in a position to find an offensive boost with Aaron Judge out, JJ Bleday could be one name to look to. The outfielder is having one of his best starts to a season after coming up from Triple-A late in the year.

Bleday isn't a household name, and once Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are back, he would end up in more of a bench role, but, in case of emergency, it would be better to put him in a game instead of a Max Schuemann. When Trent Grisham went down against the Blue Jays after a diving catch, they probably would have liked someone of the caliber of Bleday to come into a game.

A great start to Bleday's season has pushed him over the mark of being a league-average hitter by wRC+'s standards. He's a career 104 wRC+ slugger who has hit .221/.313/.412. This season, the lefty outfielder found some pop in his bat and has become one of the better hitters on the Reds. He's hitting .270/.363/.568 with a 150 wRC+.

Cincinnati Reds left fielder JJ Bleday (22) rounds third on a solo home run in the first inning of the MLB Interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Kansas City Royals at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The reason for this surge is that Bleday has found some thump in his bat. His rate of contact has always been poor, and last season, for the Athletics, he had a 29th-percentile average exit velocity, 39th-percentile barrel rate, and 29th-percentile hard-hit rate. Those numbers have surged this season, though.

Underlying numbers in 2026

He has a 60th percentile 89.9% average exit velocity, an 80th percentile 12.9% barrel rate, and a 78th percentile 47% hard-hit rate. It looks like Bleday has made something of a mechanical tweak, because his bat speed is up from last year, as well. In 2025, the former first-round pick had an average bat speed of 71.7 MPH. This season it's up to 74.1.

Of course, the downside of trading for Bleday, who was designated for assignment by the Athletics, is that he has raised his trade stock, and the Yankees may not be willing to pay up prospect-wise for somebody who is playing well for the first time in their career.

Bleday has one option left and won't be a free agent until 2029. While he would alleviate the potential loss of Trent Grisham next year, they may find it better to see what they have in Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones.