The Yankees are counting on players coming back from injuries to be the keys to a playoff run after sitting pat at the MLB trade deadline. Though admitting that he was out looking specifically for pitching and having done due diligence on a possible bat, Yankees GM Brian Cashman did not make a deal before the 4 p.m. Monday deadline.
"I know we have a great team, especially clearly when we're full capacity," Cashman said before Monday night's series-opener against the Rays at Yankee Stadium. "I didn't stand down because we're waiting on these guys in the wings. If we found the proper matches, we would go to ownership and execute, but we do have a great team when we're at full capacity knowing that we're getting everybody back some point, that's certainly, you know, exciting."
The Yankees had checked in on Mike Clevinger, who Cleveland dealt to the Padres in the biggest move of the day, and had conversations with San Francisco about Kevin Gausman and the Rangers about Lance Lynn to try and bulk up their rotation. They had also looked at potential bats like Starling Marte, but nothing came together.
Instead, they are counting on getting a push toward the final stretch from the big names on their injured list. That includes Gleyber Torres, who Boone said Monday was "close" to returning from a left hamstring and left quad strain, and Giancarlo Stanton, who went on the IL with a strained left hamstring Aug. 9 but is still not running 100% as of this weekend.
Getting Aaron Judge back in the lineup would be a huge boost as well, but the slugger strained his calf and went back on the IL on Aug. 28, just a day after he came off it. Cashman said that at the minimum, Judge would be on the IL for 20 more days.
Cashman said that before money was even a factor, the Yankees didn't like the deals on offer.
Cashman said that before money was even a factor, the Yankees didn't like the deals on offer. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
"Absolutely," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said when asked if he has the players to win a championship. "Obviously it'll be important to continue to get guys to trickle back in, but absolutely, we feel like we have a group capable of being a championship team and that continues to be our goal. Especially as we kind of weather through this time, that's been a little bit difficult for us, and excited to get on with it now."
There was a lot more trade activity on this unusual trade deadline across the league, but it was mostly by teams who came into the season as a longshot and are taking advantage of the irregular circumstances. The teams that had armed themselves for a playoff run this offseason like the Yankees and Dodgers largely stood pat at the deadline.
It's a sign of the uncertainty of how this year is going to play out on and off the field.
In this unconventional 2020 season with a shortened regular season and expanded playoffs, the risk/rewards were weighted much toward being safe. The Yankees are almost a shoo-in to make the expanded playoff pool. With no fans allowed into the ballparks, at least officially for the rest of the regular season and MLB potentially leaning toward playoff bubbles, there is no real reward for adding a lot of payroll right now. The risks were certainly greater with the expanded playoff format, no minor league season and no scouts allowed at ballparks or alternate training sites to see the prospects or potential trade targets.
In the end, Cashman was not comfortable with losing young, controllable players like pitcher Deivi Garcia, especially in return for players who could come with bigger payroll obligations.
"I mean, dollars are certainly a part of the equation for any business right now and more than ever. But I can tell you the biggest thing, forgetting the dollar, was the matches before we get to the dollars were as problematic or I'd say more problematic than then the money," Cashman said. "The money would have been another conversation to have, but if you can't get people off of the players that you're near and unwilling to part with and then add a player that's got dollars and shorter control at the same time, it makes it even that much more difficult."
