As a fan of the New York Yankees, I am disgusted by the Yankees’ failure during the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline. For the second year in a row, the Yankees, specifically Brian Cashman, came up short regarding the Trade Deadline.
The Yankees failed at the Deadline in 2023, acquiring three pitchers who needed arm surgery. It was a failure, but at least the Yankees were trying to improve their team. This year, the Yankees did nothing to improve the team.
Saying the Yankees did nothing to improve their team does not mean I thought they should have been buyers this year. The 2023 Yankees are not a good team. The 2023 are not competing for a World Series.
The Yankees had an opportunity to keep themselves in the playoff hunt. They should have begun making moves to improve their team as soon as they knew Aaron Judge would be missing significant time due to his toe injury.
Cody Bellinger, a former MVP having a bounce-back season was available. Cody Bellinger and the Cubs came to Yankee Stadium for a series about a month ago. Bellinger had a good series, proving he can handle the pressure of playing in New York.
Trading for Cody Bellinger was a no-brainer move. It addressed multiple needs: a left-handed bat and a fielder who can be a corner outfielder. The Cubs looked to be out of the race. The Yankees desperately needed a bat while the lineup struggled without Judge.
Why didn’t the Yankees make a trade for Cody Bellinger then? If Cody Bellinger comes to the Yankees and plays well, he could have carried this team. The Yankees could potentially still be in the third Wild Card spot. The team had strong pitching during the Aaron Judge injury, the reason they were losing games was the offense. Why was that never addressed? That is the point that disgusts me. Why did they wait to make a deal? They knew there was a weakness, it should have been addressed then.
The Cubs eventually rebounded, bringing themselves into the NL Wild Card race. Cody Bellinger was then taken off the table. The Yankees no longer had the ability to trade for a left-hand impact hitter who can be a corner outfielder. That’s another Brian Cashman failure.
So fine, the Yankees are not going to be able to improve their lineup. They’re are in last place. Maybe the move is to trade off some expiring contracts (and Gleyber Torres) which could potentially improve the team going forward?
That never happened. They did nothing. They did not improve the team for this season, they did not improve the team going forward. It’s like the Front Office is happy with the team is constructed. How is that possible? How can they look at this team as a competitor going forward?
The current reports, which have not been confirmed, are stating that the Yankees wanted to trade off some expiring contracts but the their asking price was too high.
YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME CASHMAN!?!?!?!
How can you overvalue anyone on this team???
The best trade chip the Yankees had was Wandy Peralta. That’s it, the best possible return they could have gotten was for a middle reliever. A guy that can close but isn’t technically a closer.
Did that idiot Cashman think someone was going to overpay for Luis Severino? Considering the season Sevy is having, Cashman isn’t in a position to hold out for a better deal, he needed to take the best deal he could get to improve the team going forward.
What about Harrison Bader? Another Yankee on an expiring deal. Wouldn’t it have been prudent to move him? He is an excellent center fielder and has shown that he can be a spark plug to a team. He’s also another one of our injury-prone Yankees. Why not trade him to improve the team going forward? It’s not like I have a lot of faith that he’ll be able to keep himself off the IL for the remainder of the season.
Is there is any truth to the rumors that when the Marlins inquired about Gleyber Torres, Cashman requested high-level pitching and hitting prospects. Potentially up to two of each? If that is true, the man should be fired on the spot. Gleyber Torres has been an okay player, but he is not a superstar that is going to demand a king’s ransom in return. It’s another example of the Yankees overvaluing their team. Let me ask you this: if these players were as good as Cashman and the Yankees think they are, shouldn’t the Yankees have a better record??
Other teams can see the Yankees are a bad team with mediocre players. We the fans can see the Yankees are a bad team with mediocre players. Brian Cashman (allegedly) refused to move any of those mediocre because he felt they were worth more. It’s criminal how poorly he is running this team. It’s another example of his stubbornness and arrogance getting in the way of success.
It’s stubbornness and arrogance because we know he’ll never admit that he was wrong. He’ll never admit that this was a failure. Fans know it was a failure. Experts know it was a failure. But Cashman will address the media and give a bunch of excuses and refuse to admit what is blatantly staring him in the face, that since last year’s trade deadline, he has made mistake after mistake, weakening the team in the process. I would be able to find some shred of respect for the guy if he could at least admit that he’s done a poor job over the past 365 days or so, but we all know that will never happen. I absolutely despise this guy.
Are the Yankees better set up for a 2023 playoff run? No. Are the Yankees better set up to improve the team going into 2024 with prospects that they stocked up on? No.
I think it’s time to finally admit what we haven’t wanted to admit. Brian Cashman is the Jerry Jones of the Yankees. A bumbling fool who cannot put together a winning team. We are screwed until further notice.
