Yankees land Heliot Ramos from Giants at the deadline

The Yankees spent deadline day hunting for right-handed bats, and they landed one late in the afternoon. Ken Rosenthal broke the news that New York was working on a deal for Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos, and within about 20 minutes it went from rumor to reality.

Ken Rosenthal

@Ken_Rosenthal

The Yankees are working on a trade for the Giants’ Heliot Ramos, source tells @TheAthletic.

The urgency made sense. Jon Heyman laid out exactly why the Yankees were scrambling for bats in the first place: their run production is down more than a run a game since Aaron Judge went on the injured list. That's a brutal number for a team trying to hold onto a wild-card spot, and it's the kind of hole you can't paper over with pitching depth.

Jon Heyman

@JonHeyman

Yankees still working on acquiring bats. Their run production is down more than a run since Judge went on IL

Jeff Passan confirmed the Yankees were finalizing the deal pending medicals, and Mark Feinsand quickly filled in the return: left-hander Henry LaLane, New York's No. 5 prospect and a 22-year-old, 6-foot-7 lefty, as the headliner going back to San Francisco.

Mark Feinsand

@Feinsand

The Yankees are close to acquiring OF Heliot Ramos from the Giants, per source. LHP Henry LaLane is believed to be the primary prospect in the trade.

Feinsand followed up shortly after with the rest of the return: infielder Kaeden Kent was also expected to be included, the son of Hall of Famer Jeff Kent, giving up two real prospects for a win-now piece. That's the price of doing business at the deadline when your best hitter is out and the wild card is in play.

Ramos himself is no rental scrub. The 26-year-old was San Francisco's first-round pick back in 2017 and is hitting.265 with 9 home runs and 34 RBIs this season, a righty bat with real opposite-field pop who's shown he can handle lefties. He's a career.257 hitter with 53 homers over five big league seasons, and while he's cooled off since a 2024 All-Star-level year, he immediately becomes one of the more established outfield bats on New York's roster.

This wasn't a one-and-done move, either. Heyman noted the Yankees were still poking around for right-handed hitters, bullpen help and a backup catcher even after the Ramos trade came together, and MLB Trade Rumors flagged that New York made another offensive addition before Monday's deadline hit. When your lineup is bleeding runs without its captain, you don't stop at one fix — you keep dialing until the buzzer.