Yank GM will ‘stay engaged’ in market
MINNEAPOLIS — The Yankees’ latest trade is very much indicative of where they are as a franchise.
“I’m going to stay engaged,” Brian Cashman said of his team’s plan heading into the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline the day after he acquired Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle from the White Sox.
“I still think we want to be careful buyers as we walk this line of trying to maximize the present as well as protect the future.”
Imagine if the Yankees weren’t in a 1022 stretch right now following their 38-23 start. Imagine if they had kept up their winning ways and felt that they were ready to go for it. Maybe then they would’ve surrendered enough blue-chip prospects to land Jose Quintana and satisfy Chicago’s high demands.
But they went into this prolonged slump yet were still able to address two of their three most significant needs — improving both he corner infield and bullpen production — at a lesser prospect cost. Now, they are in the process of trying to find a back-end-of-therotation option at an affordable cost in terms of prospects.
And somehow, they’re still in second position in the AL wild card race, just 1.5 games behind Tampa Bay.
“I think all the tools are in that clubhouse, I do,” Joe Girardi said after his team fell to 0-82 in its last 10 series with a 6-3 loss to the Twins on Wednesday. “We just have to play better. We went through a little bit of a difficult time. It’s been a tough schedule coming out of the break. I think we’ve played OK, but I think we can play better.
Because the Bombers and White Sox had been engaged on Quintana for a while, Chicago knew which Yankees prospects it liked, and Blake Rutherford was certainly one of them. The GM said it was tough giving up the 20-year-old outfielder who has a “high ceiling” and “great makeup.” But Cashman felt like he dealt from a position of strength with Aaron Judge and Clint Frazier already up, and Estevan Florial and the injured Dustin Fowler in the pipeline.
Heading into the season, you could’ve argued that the Yankees’ two biggest strengths were at first base and in the bullpen. But due to injuries to Greg Bird and Aroldis Chapman, they quickly turned into significant weaknesses. CC Sabathia’s injury didn’t help either, as things started to unravel when that happened early in the West Coast trip gone wrong.
Bullpen roles got out of whack. Starters didn’t go deep in games. Chris Carter stunk. Adam Warren got hurt. And then Dellin Betances had control issues. It all added up to Frazier, Robertson and Kahnle coming aboard.
The Yankees now have a ton of power relievers with strikeout potential in high-leverage situations. They also have Frazier, who will be their everyday third baseman. It’s all about giving Joe Girardi and his coaching staff as much versatility as possible.
Cashman praised the Steinbrenner family for taking on Robertson’s salary for next season ($13 million). And adding a dynamic righty like the 27-year-old Kahnle, who is under team control for the next several years, helped as well. Now the Yankees can explore the market for Betances, if that’s something they want to do. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports speculated that the Bombers could use Betances as part of a potential package for Sonny Gray.
“This adds some significant weapons to the high-caliber pieces we already possess in the bullpen,” Cashman said. “And hopefully it keeps working out this way as we move forward.”
The Yankees are far from complete, but they do have a lot going for them, and they are better today than they were yesterday. The significant improvement in the rotation will likely have to come from Masahiro Tanaka getting somewhat close to the pitcher he’s been the previous three years.
At the very least, the Yankees have assembled a farm system that allows themselves to be a significant trade player.
“We’re now in a sprint, and we want to run the fastest, swiftest, most successful race we can,” Cashman said. “And hopefully these three additions will allow us to do that.”
Added Girardi: “I just feel like we’re poised to make a good little run here.”
It feels like he’s been saying some version of that for a while now with no results.