Dispatches from the Trade Deadline

To Live and Die in L.A.

To no one's surprise, Joey Gallo was finally put out of his misery and traded by the Yankees. A certified disaster in pinstripes, Gallo likely had no shortage of fans willing to drive him to the airport, lest he miss his flight to Los Angeles. But before we pull the plug entirely on Gallo, there may be a ray of hope waiting for him in Chavez Ravine.

Let's turn our attention to another big-ticket slugger whose career had seemingly come to an end last season: Albert Pujols. Waived by the Angels in May after a rocky tenure in Anaheim, Pujols quickly latched on with L.A.'s marquee residents, the Dodgers. Used strategically as a pinch-hitter and part-time starter, Pujols found new life. With the Dodgers, Pujols raised his average nearly 60 points and posted his best OPS since the early days in Anaheim. 

Certainly Gallo wouldn't face the pressure he did in New York. If used in a similar fashion as Pujols, could Gallo rebound into a passable major league hitter? Or even regain his form as a fearsome slugger? The Dodgers would like to think that.

Rock Chalk, Yankees

The MLB Trade Deadline is its own cottage industry, as every pundit churns out a constant stream of potential trades and hot gossip. With so much content generated, there is bound to be overlap, and thereby, consensus. This year, the chalk said that the Yanks needed help in the outfield and in the starting rotation. Andrew Benintendi was the agreed upon bat, while Luis Castillo was the most coveted arm. Once Castillo was off the board, though, all Twitter fingers pointed to Frankie Montas. What say you, Brian Cashman? "Done and done."

Both are solid deals and significant upgrades, even if everyone knew the trades were coming. There is nothing inherently wrong with making the pre-ordained trade. If everyone says it will happen, that's probably because there's a need to be filled. 

Last season, though, anyone with a passing interest in baseball and an internet connection had the aforementioned Gallo ticketed for the Bronx. They were right. And you saw how that turned out. 

But the Yankees also made a trade few saw coming: adding another left-handed bat in the form of Anthony Rizzo. He contributed far more down the stretch than Gallo, even if few pundits had predicted it.

All that is a way of saying that it's now up to the players to perform. Will Benintendi be a Gallo or a Rizzo? Under the bright lights of Broadway, will Montas remind us more of David Cone than Sonny Gray? The next few months will tell that story. It will also tell us if Cashman's moves were as smart as they were obvious.

The Theory of Relativity

Speaking of pundits, few had the Mariners on their list of suitors for Castillo. Once that deal was done, many wondered if Seattle had given up too much for the All-Star righty. But to me, trade value is largely relative. What one team feels is too much to pay for an elite starter might be worth it for another. Case in point: the Mariners. 

Owners of the longest playoff drought in baseball, the Mariners pushed all their chips to the center and bet big on Castillo. We all remember what deadline-day stars Verlander, Sabathia and Scherzer did, performing at an elite level and leading their new teams to the playoffs. If Castillo does the same for Seattle, a playoff appearance will mean much more to this team and their fans than whatever those prospects do in 3 or 4 years.

Trader Brian

"Hello? Might I interest you
in some AA prospects?"

Questions surrounding the fate of the 2021 Yankees were answered resoundingly by General Manager Brian Cashman this week. A flurry of splashy trades ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline landed the Yankees on the back page. Going all-in on Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo signaled to the baseball world that these Yanks will be fighting to the finish.

If through all these moves, Cashman manages to assemble a playoff team, then kudos to him. At 53-48, sitting 3.5 games out of a Wildcard spot, no one thinks the Yankees are an October lock. Remaking a roster on the fly in mid-season would be quite an achievement.

On top of that, it doesn't appear that the Yankees overpaid to improve the team. Sure, it's possible that among the haul of players traded away is born another Buhner / Smoltz punchline. Even so, the current Yankees' team will be long disbanded before any one of those minor leaguers makes an impact at the major league level.

HOWEVER... before we start polishing up the Executive of the Year trophy, let's take a step back. Lost in all the excitement of Trader Brian's wheelin' and dealin' is this: Cashman is actively turning over the very same underachieving roster that HE created. The Yankees needed Gallo and Rizzo because the current lineup is unbalanced and sorely lacking left-handed power. If Clay Holmes is the answer in the bullpen, it's because Luis Cessa, Justin Wilson and the parade of arms already out there were not. Today's acquisition of Andrew Heaney speaks quite loudly, too: a pitcher with an ERA north of 5 isn't stepping into a rotation filled with aces. 

On paper, these trades seem great and will surely boost morale both on the field and in the seats. All indications are that the Yankees came away with major league fortifications while parting with only potential pieces of the future. Yet if all these flashy trades amount to an empty October without the playoffs, then someone needs to hold Cashman accountable for that. How much credit do you get for attempting to fix problems of your own making? These next two months should be Cashman's final exam. A failing grade should lead to his overdue exit.

Bull Market, Bear Market

Years ago, a fairly incompetent employee worked in the front office of the New York Yankees. George Costanza, repeatedly failing upward, somehow survived in the organization despite of his lack of accomplishments or any track record of success. (Sounds unfortunately familiar.) 

In addition to not knowing how to run a baseball franchise, George had little knowledge about the stock market. When asked about playing the market, in the midst of a lie, George noted that he's in all the markets: "Bull market, bear market, you name the market, I'm there."

In a roundabout way, that brings us to the 2021 edition of the New York Yankees and the impending MLB Trade Deadline. Throughout this up-and-down season, many have speculated whether the Yankees will be buyers or sellers by the end of July. Put another way, should Brian Cashman be bullish or bearish on this year's squad? 

From a purely mathematical standpoint -- and we all know how Cashman loves his analytics -- the Yankees are still alive for a spot in the playoffs. Though a division pennant is all but a pipe dream following this weekend's disastrous visit to Fenway Park, the Yanks sit only 3.5 games out of the 2nd Wildcard. While having to fight for the last Wildcard is falling wildly short of most pre-season predictions, the post-season is still within reach. Neither team currently in front -- Oakland nor Seattle -- is a complete team that one couldn't see fade as the season wears on. So what's a General Manager to do? 

Over the years, rightfully or wrongfully, Cashman has been reluctant to hit the "reset" button on the roster, whether in the off-season or at the deadline. The belief that New Yorkers won't settle for a non-contender may be true in the short term. Empty seats in September, not to mention an October without baseball, is a loss of revenue for the team. (Teams like Boston, however, have shown over the past two decades that stripping down a team and building it back stronger might be the best formula for long-term success.)

Unfortunately, there are too many holes on the current Yankees team to target any one area of need. Certainly the outfield has been thinned through injury and ineffectiveness. The bullpen, beleaguered of late, could use reinforcements. Even with Gerrit Cole and a rejuvenated Domingo German, there is still a need for a #3 or #4 starter in a post-season rotation. Any of the above could needs can be addressed without sacrificing top prospects or major league stars. A short-term rental typically costs less to acquire and can provide a boost, but will be off the books for next season.

With history as our guide, it seems unlikely that Cashman, or team ownership, will be willing to punt on 2021 while a playoff spot is still in reach. However, reinforcements for a Wildcard run should look decidedly different than a team poised to win it all now. (See San Diego's acquisition of Adam Frazier as an example of a team pushing all their chips into the center of the table.) 

We'll have our answers about the future of the '21 Yankees by the end of the month. (Perhaps we'll know even earlier if three games in Tampa play out like the trip to Boston.) What happens to the Yankees beyond that, and who will be making those decisions, could become more clear by the fall.