Yankees' Top Prospect Underwent Surgery; Does This Hurt His Potential Trade Value?

One of the Yankees' future stars underwent Tommy John surgery.

Mar 7, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Everson Pereira (80) hits a sacrifice fly during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports | Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

One of the New York Yankees' future stars received the three most dreaded words in baseball.

Outfielder Everson Pereira, who currently ranks as the Yankees' fifth-best prospect, was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery recently. Similarly to fellow outfield prospect Jasson Dominguez, who underwent the surgery last season, Pereira had a modified procedure that includes an internal brace to help shorten the recovery time, but his 2024 season is over regardless.

Baseball insider Andy Martino of SNY was the first to report the bad news.

Yankees OF prospect Everson Pereira requires Tommy John surgery and will have an internal brace procedure completed (via @martinonyc) https://t.co/WOOrp7IN0E pic.twitter.com/V1TuKqDzvr

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2024

The 23-year-old played 40 games this year with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, hitting .265/.346/.512 with 19 extra-base hits, 10 home runs, 27 RBI, and 33 runs scored. Last season, he dominated in Triple-A with a .312/.386/.551 slash line and was called up to the major leagues; however, he wasn't ready and struggled immensely, hitting just .151 with a .427 OPS and striking out 40 times in 27 games.

Losing Pereira for the season not only hurts his development, but also his trade value. Despite being on the Yankees' 40-man roster, the right-handed hitting Pereira has the unfortunate disadvantage of competing for a spot in the outfield that is already highly crowded; in addition to having possibly the best outfield in the majors (Alex Verdugo, Aaron Judge, and Juan Soto, with Trent Grisham as an elite defensive replacement), the Bronx Bombers' top two prospects, Dominguez and Spencer Jones, are both outfielders.

The Yankees will obviously be buyers at the trade deadline, and Pereira's excellent potential could have made him an ideal bargaining piece to acquire strong bullpen arms or possibly an infielder. But with the youngster going under the knife, it's highly unlikely that teams will trade their better players for a currently injured prospect.

Pereira should ideally be at full strength by the start of spring training in 2025. But between his poor performance in the major leagues, the Yankees' highly competitive outfield, and losing valuable development time due to injury, the 23-year-old top prospect has a rather bleak outlook at the moment.