As the July 31 non-waiver trade makes its way toward us, the Yankees, despite being seven games below .500 since the start of June, find themselves still in contention for a playoff spot. Even though the Yankees are constructed for the long-term, that means they may be positioned as buyers. Speaking of which ... 

The Yankees could indeed use some help at first base. This season, Yankee first basemen have combined to hit .208/.295/.391. That's mostly the work of Chris Carter, whom the team recently released. In normal times, Greg Bird would be the go-to at the position, but he could miss the remainder of the season after undergoing ankle surgery. 

That brings us to Yonder Alonso. The A's 30-year-old first baseman undertook some swing changes coming into the season, and thus far he's put up an impressive line of .268/.366/.555 (148 OPS+) with 21 homers in 83 games. While those swing changes are noted, those numbers are well out of step with the remainder of Alonso's career (lifetime OPS+ of 103 coming into 2017), so the Yankees would need to be confident that his 2017 level of performance is sustainable. 

In terms of making a trade work, the Yankees of course have plenty of long-term assets in the system, and that's what the (perpetually?) rebuilding A's want.