The New York Yankees have recently made some minor moves to try to plug holes they now have at first base and designated hitter after losing Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring strain, 4 weeks) and Anthony Rizzo (arm fracture, 8 weeks) over the course of the past eight days.
On Sunday, New York acquired J.D. Davis from the Oakland Athletics, who has the ability to DH and play first base and third base. The current plan is to platoon Davis at first against lefties with top prospect Ben Rice, a recent call-up, facing right-handed pitching.
However, this audition period will likely last about three weeks until the trade deadline begins to heat up. But there is another move the Yankees could try to make in the interim, and that's bringing in a first baseman/DH option, who is coming off a strong year for an AL East rival.
Brandon Belt is surprsingly still a free agent after putting up 19 home runs, a .254/.370/.490 slash line with a .858 OPS, 43 RBIs and a 136 OPS+ in 103 games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023.
Belt has proven he still has a lot left in the tank, and he has been known for his defensive skills at first base throughout his career. But he did just turn 36-years-old, and has dealt with injury woes across each of the past three seasons.
Regardless, the production when healthy would be a good fit for the Yankees, as well as his left-handed bat. The Yankees should consider giving Belt a call because if he steps up as a solid option, the club would not be forced to pursue a first baseman at the deadline.
Belt also helped the San Francisco Giants win two World Series titles in 2012 and 2014, and was an All-Star back in 2016.
For now, the Yankees are going to see what they have in Rice and Davis at first base. But should this blueprint fail, they could make another quick move by bringing in Belt to see what he can do.
