Yankees need to do more at trade deadline than talk about it
Yankees GM Brian Cashman talks to reporters at the 2024 Grapefruit League Media Day at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 15. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
It’s a well-worn baseball cliche . . . or a recurring nightmare, depending on your point of view.
The trade deadline will come and go, a few meager moves will get made, and inevitably, some general manager somewhere will assure fans that it’s all actually OK.
You see, there are players coming back from the injured list, and that’s way better than what was on the market anyway.
So what if your team needed bullpen help and a bat or two, and some rotational depth? So what if other contenders made last-minute moves that could shape an October to remember?
Listen, guys, a utility infielder no one has seen since May is starting a rehab assignment!
Cue the hand-wringing, the Reddit rants and the collective groan of a fandom who have heard that one before.
The thing is, it could be tempting to think the Yankees really are in that position, especially considering that they’ve shown signs of bouncing back from their recent swoon, as demonstrated by their 6-1 win over the Rays on Friday night.
Giancarlo Stanton is way better than any utility infielder, and Aaron Boone said the slugger is making swift progress toward a return.
After missing 75 games with elbow inflammation, Gerrit Cole looked completely like himself in throwing six innings of one-run ball Friday.
Scott Effross is a viable bullpen arm if the Yankees decide to call him up, and Anthony Rizzo, Jose Trevino and Jon Berti probably will come back (eventually).
Brian Cashman could pick up a single reliever on July 30 and reasonably say these exact words: “Getting Giancarlo Stanton back in the lineup will have a bigger impact than anyone we could have acquired at the deadline.”
He’d probably be right, but that doesn’t mean the Yankees should be fooled into believing it’s enough. The 8-18 stretch going into the All-Star break was a sobering reality check, and though this team has been cautious about trading its prospects, this isn’t the time to get too cute — not with what’s on the line.
Boone likely is aware of that, and though he didn’t quite rise up to the level of Brandon Nimmo publicly pleading for the Mets to be buyers at the deadline, he did provide a hint as to what he hopes will happen in the next week-plus.
The key to turning around this recent swoon is “getting a few guys really going the way we know they’re really capable of offensively,” he said. “Obviously, we’ve got the trade deadline coming up. That’s going to be a big topic of conversation here over the next 10, 11 games with what teams do or don’t do.”
Maybe I’m reading between the lines too much, but it sure sounds as if Boone wouldn’t mind a little extra ammo. And really, who can blame him?
It’s true that the bullpen has looked better — relievers have allowed two earned runs in 26 innings in the last seven games — but while relievers certainly can thrive without swing-and-miss stuff, Sunday’s loss to the Orioles was a prime example of why having a power arm is an asset.
As usual, Clay Holmes pitched to contact, but his wildness, an error by Anthony Volpe and a misplay by Alex Verdugo produced three unearned runs that cost them the game. Let’s not forget, too, that Luis Gil has never had this heavy a workload, meaning that a little insurance in the bullpen is nothing but a good thing.
Then there’s the lineup: Having Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Stanton is impressive, but the offense has been streaky, at best. They need more production from the corner infield positions, and DJ LeMahieu’s .182 average simply isn’t it. There’s no telling when Rizzo will be back, but he wasn’t producing when he went down, either.
And what about Stanton? Well, there’s no doubt that he’s a fearsome presence who will lengthen a lineup that currently has Verdugo and his .233/.289/.374 slash line batting cleanup. But historically, Stanton has struggled after returning from lower-body injuries, though Boone hopes that won’t be the case this time.
“We’re hoping that the injury was minor enough this go around and a little bit different that he’s in a better spot returning physically and hopefully hits the ground running,” he said. “We feel like he’s in a good spot. I think he does, so you’ve got to trust in that.”
Sure, you absolutely can trust in that, but it can’t be a blind trust. Not when they’re trying to win a championship and show Soto why he should come back to the Bronx.
The Yankees’ recent swoon has proved how vulnerable this team can be. And if the first-place Orioles hadn’t struggled themselves, the Yankees would be in considerable trouble. Instead, they remain only one game behind.
Now, imagine if the Orioles and general manager Mike Elias decide to take that top-rated farm system of theirs and make some big moves at the deadline. Imagine if the Yankees mostly decide to stand pat.
It’s not a particularly enticing scenario, is it? And knowing that the Yankees have some key players returning won’t be more than a cold, bitter comfort.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
