NEW YORK _ As the steward of a bruised and struggling contender, Brian Cashman is seeking to improve the Yankees' fortunes before Monday's MLB trade deadline.
But he's operating even more cautiously in this COVID-19 season.
"Clearly pitching is an area of focus for us," the general manager said Saturday, before the Yankees received a brilliant afternoon start from J.A. Happ.
In the ninth, old friend Dellin Betances' wild pitch scored Clint Frazier from third base, giving the Yankees' a walk-off 2-1 victory at empty Yankee Stadium.
The ex-Yankee Betances had walked Frazier, who moved to third on Jordy Mercer's one-out single.
When Betances threw one to the backstop with Erik Kratz batting, the Yankees' seven-game losing streak had ended.
Following a 12-day layoff, Happ tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings, exiting to the applause of his teammates with a 1-0 lead.
But it was gone in an instant, as Wilson Ramos greeted Adam Ottavino with a game-tying homer off the left-field foul pole.
Cashman said he's hunting both starters and relievers, though he's navigating in "a risky marketplace" due to the uncertainties of a season impacted by the coronavirus.
"I'm certainly engaged with the other teams, trying to determine what's available," said Cashman, though the obstacles to a deal are increased by:
_ More teams included in postseason, making for a "riskier" playoff format.
_ The wisdom of adding a high salary and/or subtracting significant prospects this year.
_ A possibility that the season is not played to its conclusion.
"You don't know what's lurking around the corner because the pandemic... still exists and won't be going anywhere anytime soon," Cashman said. "Do you shoot those prospect bullets to add an impact player, potentially one that adds more salary?"
Included in the "variables" that make this trade deadline "uniquely different" is Cashman's belief that "some clubs are just not interested in participating," due to the added risk.
As of Saturday afternoon, Cashman hadn't found a match with any club that required the input or final OK from managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner.
"Those type of conversations I hope to get to at least," Cashman said. "So we can make a tough decision."
Pitching for the first time since Aug. 16, Happ's 90-pitch performance was the longest by a Yankees starter this season.
Inducing soft contact and displaying sharp command, Happ yielded just three hits, walked none and struck out five batters.
Before the game, Cashman addressed Happ's recent suggestion that the club was manipulating the innings and starts required to trigger his $17 million vesting option for 2021.
"You're going to start your best starters as much as you possibly can in this COVID season," said Cashman, bluntly adding that Happ's recent track record made him a back-of-the-rotation choice.
"He had a poor season last year (12-8, 4.91 ERA) and he's gotten out of the gate not very successfully this year," Cashman said of the lefty's 6.39 ERA over his first three starts.
Scheduled and unscheduled off days have played a part in Happ's sporadic appearances.
Happ's turn in the rotation was skipped last weekend when the Mets' two positive COVID-19 cases wiped out a three-game series at Citi Field, necessitating a five-game set this weekend.
"We're just trying to win our games and put our best team on the field," Cashman said of Happ's appearances being solely baseball decisions.
"We're not trying to complicate anything."
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