MLB trade rumors: This familiar Yankees target sounds like great fit

Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia knows Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Curtis Granderson very well. On Tuesday, August 14, 2018 (8/14/18), Granderson reportedly cleared waivers, increasing the chances the Yankees trade for him before the deadline on August 31, 2018 (8/31/18).

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NEW YORK — CC Sabathia and Curtis Granderson played together for four seasons with the Yankees.

Sounds like Sabathia wouldn’t mind having him around again.

“He was great guy,” Sabathia said before Wednesday’s loss to the Rays at Yankee Stadium. “Curtis is a leader. Always positive. Just a good all-around guy.”

Sabathia continued, “Plays hard, you knew he was going to hit homers into the short porch. He was really good here.”

Could Granderson be back?

Maybe.

9 Cashman takeaways: Bad Judge news

It was reported Tuesday that the 37-year-old outfielder cleared waivers. That means that though the July 31 trade deadline has passed, Toronto is free to match up with any team for a Granderson trade.

And Granderson makes sense, on a few levels, for the Yankees.

In 95 games, Granderson has hit .235 with 11 homers and 35 RBI. He has a .755 OPS. He’s due about $1.28 million through the rest of the season. He’ll be a free agent in the offseason.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he talked to teams about acquiring one of their bats before the deadline, but the costs were too high at the time.

The Yankees could use a slugger, particularly one who could handle right field.

The Yankees blew their timetable for the return of Aaron Judge (right wrist fracture). They initially expected him to miss three weeks. Judge, who had a cortisone shot Tuesday and still feels pain, doesn’t seem likely to return until early September.

And while Giancarlo Stanton has been hitting well, he’s nursing a tight left hamstring, and hasn’t been able to play the field full time since July.

Career-long Neil Walker has been playing there lately, with the light-hitting Shane Robinson as the alternative.

Gary Sanchez (right groin strain) also isn’t expected back for a while, until at least late August. Clint Frazier (post-concussion symptoms) is slowly working back to a return.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.