Everyone is stunned. The Yankees didn’t make any moves by this year’s trade deadline. Well, actually, not everyone is stunned. I’m not surprised at all. Brian Cashman has recently shown he is not going to make panic trades or silly signings just to seem like he’s doing something. Standing pat was the right decision no matter what freaked-out fans or blowhard pundits have to say.
The reality is there just wasn’t a player being offered that warranted trading any of the Yankees’ top prospects. Ubaldo Jimenez is not worth some combination of Jesus Montero, Dellin Betances, Manny Banuelos and/or Austin Romine, not to mention Ivan Nova. I know Jimenez has been successful in hitter-friendly Coors Field, but I’m always leery of a National League pitcher making the transition to the American League, especially one who’s lost some ticks on his fastball and has really only had one very good, if not stellar, half-season. That’s not to say Jimenez won’t pitch well for Cleveland — I just don’t think he was worth Colorado’s asking price.
The Mariners Doug Fister may have been a decent back-end of the rotation add, but is he really any better than Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia? The other guys out there, Dan Haren and Erik Bedard (who ended up going to the suddenly pitching-thin Red Sox), are too injury prone.
Unless Cashman was going to pull off some blockbuster trade for Felix Hernandez, there were just no starting pitchers available that could really help the Yankees down the stretch more than what they already have in the rotation or down on the farm.
The one need that probably should have been addressed was obtaining a lefty reliever. The Yankees weren’t the only team looking for a solid LOOGY, but again, there was no one out there.
The Yankees could pick up a piece or two off waivers; however, even if they don’t, they will get better as they get healthier. Rafael Soriano and Eric Chavez just came off the disabled list and, even more importantly, Alex Rodriguez will soon be back.
The Bombers can also improve by bringing up some of those guys in the minors. Banuelos just had his triple-A debut with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and pitched five solid innings, including eight strikeouts and only two earned runs. Plus, it’s time to let Montero come up to the majors and take some swings before he gets bored to death in the minors.
The Yankees publicly claim to be about winning it all today. This time, though, doing nothing was the right move both for now and for the team’s future.
