Whether it be in Joey Gallo or the uninspiring play of Frankie Montas, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman continues to strike out at the trade deadline.
Cashman sends away valuable prospects in exchange for talented players, but the moment they arrive to play for the Yankees, they immediately begin to deteriorate into shells of their former selves.
The Yankees were forced to part ways with Gallo, who went over to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the deadline several weeks ago. However, Montas has given up 20 earned runs over 25.2 innings since joining the Bombers, an inexcusable stat-line that showcases astronomical regression.
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The team continues to lock in big money to players who simply aren’t carrying their weight, which puts a lot of pressure on the stars of the team like Aaron Judge. Without Judge, the Yankees would be in no man’s land, but his unbelievable production and MVP caliber season has carried them to success.
ESPN showcased all of Cashman’s misjudgments, especially when it comes to trading away prospects and signing inefficient players.
They have $70-plus million coming off the books this year but about half of that would be earmarked for Aaron Judge, if he stays with the Bombers (I explored this in May). Ballparking that potential Judge deal means the Yankees would be paying over $125 million next season to Cole, Stanton, Judge and Josh Donaldson, which is a little over half of what they spent on the whole team this year. Having Volpe and Peraza about to show up, Cortes turning into a real starter, and adding via the depth of the system at the deadline are all key factors to improving an aging core. However, the Joey Gallo trade (Ezequiel Duran, Josh Smith, and Glenn Otto are all now big leaguers) and rental of Anthony Rizzo (50 games in exchange for Top 100 CF Kevin Alcantara) last summer weren’t necessary and ended up costing a ton of prospect depth that could really help right now.
Cashman should be on the hot seat for the Yankees:
While Cashman is still eyeing negotiations with Judge on a long-term extension, he must have a back up plan in mind if he walks. Replacing Judge is borderline impossible, but the team has a few solid youngsters on the way up like Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe.
Peraza remains a prime suspect to be traded in the winter months, especially with the rise of Volpe and his great production as of late. Oswaldo Cabrera has also been fantastic for the Yankees as a rookie , featuring in several positions and providing optimism he can be a factor in future seasons.
However, considering the amount of money the Yankees spend and the constant turnover of prospects, you would expect they be playing better at this point in the season and looking like a World Series caliber team. If they suffer an early knocked out from the playoffs and lose Judge in free agency, most fans will be calling to axe Cashman from the job.