Final Might-Include-Beens of Yankees Heritage: Jackson Melian

It’s the heart of winter in January, and the Yankees remain on the lookout for a third or utility infielder. With the arbitration season officially underway—and the Yankees already locking in deals with four of their five arbitration-eligible players—the Cardinals couldn’t finalize a multi-year deal with Brendan Donovan before the Yankees Shop Thursday deadline, leaving $450,000 on the table. Given that St. Louis operates as a “report-and-display” club, Donovan’s next step will likely be set by an arbitration hearing. Despite having played exclusively at the infield level since his 2022 debut, the 28-year-old Donovan has consistently impressed. In his debut season, he even earned a utility Gold Glove. Then in 2024, he led the Cardinals in batting average, OBP, and OPS, finishing with a line of .278/.342/.417 and posting 3.2 fWAR. A left-handed hitter with a smooth swing, he maintains a low whiff rate of 15.1% and only strikes out 12.4% of the time. While his career pop is modest—amassing just 30 home runs and a .140 ISO last season—the ability of a lefty to produce an OPS in the .750–.770 range is exactly what the Yankees need. Defensively, Donovan has been a standout. In 2024 he racked up 6 OAA—5 of which were above average at second base—even though he appeared in 53 games at third. On the offensive side, he registered a 115 wRC+ in 2024 and showed versatility in the lineup. His splits reveal an intriguing adjustment: batting leadoff in 2024, he posted a .237 average with a .314 OBP, compared to a .326 average and .392 OBP when slotted in the fifth spot. His combined numbers from 2022 and 2023—.276/.357/.409 with a 116 wRC+—suggest that his 2024 season might have been an anomaly rather than a trend. There’s an additional nuance in Yankees Jerseys his approach: although 2024 saw him struggle slightly against 4-seam fastballs (with a –9 run value), he still managed a .251 average, a .340 slugging percentage, and a .298 wOBA against them. This minor dip, however, doesn’t overshadow his overall potential. At this point, Donovan appears to be the simplest option for the Yankees to address a pressing need—provided the Cardinals are willing to part with him in the current landscape. If St. Louis sticks to its strategy of avoiding a multi-year deal (as they did with Tommy Edman last offseason) or opts for a tiered extension to secure Donovan’s role on a contender, the path could get complicated. History shows that contentious arbitration hearings—like those involving Corbin Burnes and Dellin Betances—can strain team–player relationships, and this might be the case again. While it may seem straightforward for the Yankees to secure a reliable, left-handed infielder, much depends on whether the Cardinals decide to move Donovan before his first arbitration hearing turns into a protracted negotiation. For now, the situation remains fluid in January, and further developments are eagerly awaited.