New York Yankees Rumors: Jason Heyward Was Nearly Acquired Last Winter?

New York Yankees Rumors: Could the Yankees have acquired outfielder Jason Heyward last season from the Atlanta Braves in a blockbuster trade?

New York Yankees rumors were quiet during this past offseason, as they were the only major league team to not sign a player to a major league contract. But, they were extremely active on the trade market, adding pieces to fill out their roster and get a little more youthful. Earlier in the week there were rumors of a trade that the Yankees considered making last season for outfielder Jason Heyward.

Last season, Hayward was traded from the Atlanta Braves to the St. Louis Cardinals for Shelby Miller. Before that trade was finalized though, there was a word that Heyward was on his way to the Yankees. He was not going to the Bronx alone though, as the Yankees were pushing for Andrelton Simmons to be included in what would have been a blockbuster trade between the Yankees and Braves.

According to Jon Heyman, that is exactly what was in the works he revealed on his Twitter account. Here is what Heyman shared in a series of tweets.

Blockbuster is right. In this deal, the Yankees would have greatly upgraded across the board. Their defense would have improved immensely as both Heyward and Simmons are Gold Glove players and arguably the best fielders at their respective positions. Melvin Upton would have been a solid bat off the bench in center field, while Chris Johnson would have given them a solid option behind Chase Headley, who ended up struggling much of the season.

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But, the package that would have went back to Atlanta was the real sticking point. While the package the Yankees were receiving has plenty of major league talent, the Yankees would have cleaned out their farm system in this deal. Luis Severino, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez are considered legitimate building blocks for the Yankees and are top prospects.

While acquiring players such as Heyward and Simmons would have been nice, but the asking price that the Braves had was too much. The Yankees did well last season filling those holes, as Didi Gregroius proved to be a solid addition at shortstop, while they also added Nathan Eovaldi. This season they did well again adding Aaron Hicks, Starlin Castro and Aroldis Chapman, once again not needing to trade any top prospects.

The Braves also did well, as they did well acquiring Miller for Heyward and then flipping him for even more pieces this offseason including 2015 No.1 overall pick, shortstop Dansby Swanson, Aaron Blair and Ender Inciarte. While the Yankees offer may have had more players with upside, they also added Sean Newcomb, Chris Ellis and Erick Aybar from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Simmons.

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Both teams have come away well despite the blockbuster trade not coming to fruition. The Yankees and Braves would eventually make a trade, albeit on a much smaller scale, as Carpenter and Chase Shreve were sent to the Yankees in exchange for Manny Banuelos.