The Yankees have a catching problem, and it isn't a new one. Brian Cashman has already copped to it publicly, and now with the trade deadline bearing down, the rumor mill is doing what it always does: recycling the same name teams have kicked tires on before. This time it's Hunter Goodman, the Rockies' 26-year-old backstop who just made his second straight All-Star team and has quietly become one of the more dangerous bats at the position in baseball.
MLB Trade Rumors flagged that New York has been down this road with Goodman before.
That's not a throwaway line. The Yankees have reportedly called Colorado about Goodman in the past, and the interest never really cooled off, it just went quiet for a while. Now it's back on the radar as New York looks for literally anything more reliable behind the plate than what's currently drawing walks and passing pitches back there.
The follow-up report framed the question everyone in the Bronx is now asking again.
The case for Goodman writes itself offensively. He's hitting .254 with 27 home runs and an .863 OPS this season, and a chunk of that power has come on the road, which is usually the stat scouts point to when they want to argue a Coors Field masher can actually rake anywhere. For a Yankees lineup that's been searching for thump from the catcher spot for what feels like forever, that profile is tempting.
The catch, and there's always a catch with the Rockies, is that Goodman isn't a rental. He's got multiple years of team control left before free agency, which is exactly the kind of player rebuilding clubs don't move at the deadline unless they're blown away. Colorado has reportedly signaled it plans to hang onto him despite the Yankees' interest, and any package would likely need to be pitching-heavy, which is precisely the kind of chip New York tends to guard closely.
So this is where the rumor sits for now: real interest, real need, and a real obstacle in the form of a Rockies front office that isn't desperate to sell. The Yankees have shown they'll circle back to Goodman again and again, but circling isn't closing. Whether New York finally pulls the trigger or keeps window-shopping into another offseason is the thing to watch as the deadline gets closer.