The Yankees had a rather quiet trade deadline, and only made one deal on July 31st. It was not for a player who would have bolstered the starting rotation, it was not another reliever for the Yankees’ star-studded bullpen, nor was it another bat to add to the lineup.
The trade was for Colorado Rockies’ Alfredo Garcia, a 20-year-old pitching prospect currently in Single A, in exchange for Joe Harvey, who was in Triple AAA.
Alfredo Garcia currently has a 6.00 ERA and a 3-10 record in Single A, so it does not look like he will be helping the Yankees’ pitching struggles anytime soon.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros pulled off a blockbuster trade, trading for Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke, right after he pitched against the Yankees. The Astros also acquired Aaron Sanchez, Joe Biagini, and Cal Stevenson from the Blue Jays.
The Astros gave up four prospects for basically their third ace, Zack Greinke, the prospects being Corbin Martin, J.B. Bukauskas, Seth Beer and Josh Rojas. Sanchez, Biagini, and Stevenson were acquired for only Derek Fisher.
Brian Cashman and the Yankees went after and “knocked the door” on multiple pitchers, including the Diamondbacks’ Robbie Ray, the Mets’ Zack Wheeler, and Noah Syndergaard, and San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner. None of these players were moved.
Two pitchers were taken off the market before July 31st, those two being Marcus Stroman and Trevor Bauer. Stroman went to the Mets, and Bauer went to the Reds. Both of these teams are in fourth place in their division and are unlikely to make the playoffs. These are the teams that beat the Yankees to two starters that would very much their pitching situation.
The Yankees needed to make a move for starting pitching, and the fact that they did not trade for a starting pitcher is not something that many Yankee fans understand.
The starting rotation has not been at its best lately, and a new face in the rotation would have helped greatly. The Yankees two series against the Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red Sox, two teams that are gaining ground on the Yankees rather quickly, showed that a change needed to be made in the rotation. The offense won the series against the Twins, but with the way the pitching created steep hills to climb against the Red Sox, the Yankees were only able to take one win away from that four-game set.
Of course, Luis Severino and Dellin Betances are on their ways back to the Yankees, but it may be a while until then, and even when they do come back, there is no telling if they will be their dominant selves right out of the gate.
Seeing the Red Sox get hot, the Twins rolling, and the Astros adding reinforcements to their roster shows that there should have been a move made, as anyone of Stroman, Bauer, Bumgarner, Ray, Syndergaard or Wheeler would assist in the Yankees’ pitching.
Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone, and Zack Britton backed the quiet deadline, all saying they are confident in the group that they have right now. However, there should have been a move made for a starter.
Let’s hope the Yankees prove us all wrong.
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