The New York Yankees stayed put during the trade deadline on Monday. With 4 PM representing the end of negotiating, general manager Brian Cashman elected to stick with his current roster.
The Yankees were connected to Lance Lynn and Mike Clevinger at the deadline, but their price-tags were too lofty to exercise a trade.
Cashman was being grilled for young starting pitcher Deivi Garcia, who pitched 6.0 scoreless innings int he second-game of a doubleheader on Sunday against the Mets. His phenomenal MLB debut increased his stock exponentially, and other teams are adamant about including him in any deal worth making.
Reports have indicated Cashman turned down a Garcia and Clint Frazier package deal for Mike Clevinger, a premium starting pitcher who has two years of arbitration left on his contract. Acquiring a proven commodity who’s on a cheap deal this year would have been a stellar add, but clearly, Cashman sees the potential of Frazier and Garica more valuable.
The Yankees have been fending off teams for Garcia:
“Not just recently,†Cashman said, “but going into last year’s deadline and prior, clearly there’s a lot of value with his age, his control years, his economic circumstances as we move forward.â€
“What I liked was the fact that he had commanded his pitches and was pounding that strike zone and was getting ahead of the hitters and it felt and looked really comfortable,†Cashman said. “You can have the physical ability, but then it being able to execute on a consistent basis your delivery and your pitch sequences and have your game plan and follow it, that’s a whole other level.â€
“Listen, this has been well worth the wait and we believe there’s a lot more to come in the future,†Cashman said. “That’s not to put pressure on him as much as just to acknowledge that he’s capable of a lot and we’ve seen Jordan Montgomery take the steps he’s taken and we’re pretty excited that he’s a fixture in our rotation and we think that there’s some other young guys that can take similar steps that Jordan’s taken. As he climbs the ladder in our rotation, we think some of these other guys can do the same over the course of time given the opportunity.â€