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A Wednesday Discussion: Trade Deadline

July 31, 2024

***

The trade deadline has passed.


This week we asked our writers:


Are you satisfied with the direction the Yankees took at this year's trade deadline?  


Here are their responses:

***

Paul Semendinger - Like almost every year, it's the same thing. In the winter I note some weaknesses on the team. Readers respond, "That's what the trade deadline is for." The days get close to the deadline. The Yankees are rumored to be on every big player. The deadline ends, the Yankees end up with a few lesser pieces and come up short, again.


The Yankees failed to address most of their needs. Other teams made big splashes. The Dodgers get the prized starting pitcher. Bullpen closers went. The Yankees are left standing, looking completely overmatched, confused, and befuddled.


The Yankee apologists will say, "Jazz Chisholm is a legitimate third baseman." They'll say, "Mark Leiter is better than his numbers." They'll argue, "De Los Santos can be a big game pitcher out of the pen."


We'll hear, "The Yankees just weren't comfortable with the prospect cost."

We'll hear, "The Yankees have a budget, you know."

We'll hear, "Other teams asked the Yankees more to give up than they asked from other teams."

We'll also hear, "We see getting Stanton back and hopefully Dominguez and Scott Effros as big moves. Those are the same as big trades - getting those guys back."


All excuses, we have heard many (many) times before.


The Yankees came up small at the deadline. Absolutely and completely.


Winners get the job done. Losers make excuses. We'll be hearing excuses now and then again in October when the Yankees pack their bags well before the World Series.


(If I were Juan Soto, I would see, clearly, where this team is heading and wouldn't wish to be part of a long 15 years of mediocrity. He's going to get huge money. He should find a place that actually seems to have a plan...)

***

Lincoln Mitchell - This was an absurd trade deadline, but it captures the ongoing grift that is the Yankees in the Cashman era. All but assured a playoff spot, but having several clear shortcomings, the Yankees made one good move, picking up Jazz Chisholm, and added two relievers whose names we are unlikely to remember a year from now. These are the actions of team that wants to appear to be trying, rather than one that wants to win the World Series.

***

Tamar Chalker - I feel like it was kind of a push. Jazz Chisholm Jr seemed like an odd acquisition given the Yankees’ needs, but I think he has already injected some good energy into the team and lineup that was needed. I’m excited to watch him. I’m glad they got a little more bullpen help, but I think they needed more than what they got in that realm.

***

Mike Whiteman - The Yankees are a better team now than a week ago. Chisholm and Leiter are nice additions, shoring up weak spots on the roster. 


Is it enough? I would have felt a lot better with another starter and strikeout reliever. Can they win with what they have? I believe so, but there is very little margin for injury or poor performance. A lot has to go right. 


So, am I satisfied? Can't help but to think what could have been. 

***

Ethan Semendinger - The Yankees had many holes, in my opinion, that they needed to fix ahead of the trade deadline: second base, third base, closer, and set-up man.


The Yankees addressed second base. They got Jazz Chisholm (who is great!)...and then they put him at third base, instead keeping Gleyber Torres (the MLB leader in errors by a 2B) in the middle infield. (Speaking of Gleyber: I wanted him traded. I cannot wait for him to leave this team.)


The Yankees did not get Isaac Paredes. He would've been a perfect option for third base now and for the next few years.


The Yankees did add two bullpen arms. I like Mark Leiter Jr. The jury is out on Enyel De Los Santos. But, they did not get a shut-down closer. They will have to rely on Clay Holmes to be that player. (He isn't.)


Brian Cashman will address the media today. Be prepared for lots of "we're getting back injured players" and "we were in on him, but the price got too high". Every year it is the same song and dance. The Yankees refuse to ever go all-in. Even when they have- arguably- two of the five best players in the MLB right now on the team.

***

Cary Green - Did Cashman do enough? It doesn’t appear that he did but I really don’t fault him for it. Rather than get fleeced for being desperate, the two trades he made were far from overpays. He won the MTV piece of both trades that he made and I think that counts for something. He held onto all of his top prospects as well and he even managed to keep a few under the radar types as well. Cashman also improved the team on the field as well and let’s not forget, the Yankees have a number of players still trickling in off the DL to provide reinforcements, which in terms of impact, is kind of like making a number of key trades or moves.  


Note - This is part of a longer article to be published tomorrow.

***

Ed Botti - I'm indifferent.  I didn't think they'd be in on any big fish. I had hoped they'd grab a third basemen. But in typical form, they grabbed a player that isnt a third basemen, and then gave him a new mitt.


Jazz played third with no incident on Monday night ( I'm writting this before Tuesdays game), good for him and good job by him. However, he is not a MLB third baseman, at least not yet. I do not like mid-season try outs. We still have to see him come in on balls to his right, and throw to his left (think Alex Cora bunting on him) as well as other tough 3rd base plays he will be called on to make. He may turn out to be able to handle the position with a full spring training, etc., but right now, I would like a MLB third baseman. I wanted to call the Cubs now that Paredes is in Chicago and see what it would take to get Michael Busch (1B and 3B experience).  That didn't happen, to my knowledge. Which brings me to Leiter.  I like the move. A swing and miss guy on a hot streak. He should get some big high pressure outs. Great sinker.


De Los Santos doesn't do much for me, especially when you consider that the Padres are all in. Why move him? As hot as Leiter has been over the last 30 games, De Los Santos has been the extreme opposite pitching to a 5.46 era over the last 30 games. They must-see something on him.


One move I want to see is in the rotation. Lots of rumors about moving on from Nestor. No, the man to have moved on from is Stroman. You are now seeing what I said would happen in March. He falls off big time in the second half (or the important half). Trade him, and acquire another starter in a separate deal  (I’d have checked in on Chris Bassett).


Another swing and miss reliever would have been good. Someone like Cade Smith from Cleveland or Bryan Hudson from Milwaukee might have looked good in pinstripes.


At the end of the day however,  the trade deadline wasn't the key, for me. They have a lot of talent right now to turn it around. I wanted dead wood removed. I wanted to shake things up. 

Making Caleb Ferguson, Jahmai Jones and JD Davis the only casualties isn't enough.

They needed a wake up call.


The big question is what do they do with DJ? Since they owe him another $30mm after this season, he will not be DFA’d. It looks like he will be used sparingly as a defensive replacement and spot starter. It’s a tough pill to swallow for a proud ex-batting champ, but they can no longer afford to play a .174 hitter every night.


 I look for Jasson Dominguez to make it back to the Bronx sometime in mid-August if he has no setbacks from his oblique injury and Rizzo will be back as well.


Somehow the Yankees were gifted with a Baltimore slump at same time as their slump.


Lastly, sitting Stanton after one game and holding Cole back for fatigue is NOT the way to go all in and do whatever and whenever it takes to win. That was a bad sign, for me.

***

Andy Singer - Satisfied?  That's a really tricky question.  What the Yankees did over the last few days COULD be enough.


I think Cashman had a great start to the Trade Deadline.  I would argue that the best baseball Jazz Chisholm has in him (which is what the Yankees have gotten from him in his first two games) makes him the best player traded at the deadline.  He's dynamic and he checks a lot of boxes for the Yankees' offense.  Mark Leiter Jr. is one of the targets I highlighted in the SSTN Mailbag last week, and I think he's as good as almost all of the high profile relievers dealt this year.  


However, given the pieces remaining, I also really wanted a right-handed bat to platoon with Verdugo and/or Rice and another high-end bullpen arm.  Neither happened.  Again, the Yankees might have done enough to right the ship, but they didn't knock it out of the park to signal they were "all-in."  I have much fuller comments in this week's SSTN Mailbag, but I am left shy of being satisfied.

43 Comments


fantasyfb3313
Aug 01

i am NOT writing this as ANY type of defense for the Yankees


that said, we are so focused on the Yankees, I think we often are a bit blind to what happens with the rest of the league


I am wondering if i was a Baltimore fan how mad I would be today. they have basically universally regarded the best farm in baseball. they NEED pitching


they got one talented but probably below average reliever (Leiter is WAY WAY better than Dominguez) and they got one middle of the order starter and a talented but currently underperforming starter- AND they paid a LOT for that starter!!

prior to the deadline, I said it many many times, I WANTED Trevor…


Like
Jeff Korell
Jeff Korell
Aug 01
Replying to

Even with all the NON-moves the Yankees made....All the moves the Yankees COULD have made, but didn't, I am confident that the Yankees have an improved team from the one they had before their "underwhelming" Trade Deadline moves. If Jazz Chisholm continues playing the way he has been, or even close to it, the Yankees FINALLY have major offense at the 3B position! And Mark Leiter Jr instantly makes the bullpen better. If yesterday's performance by DJ is NOT a fluke and is evidence that he has finally gotten his timing and his stroke back, there is another improvement right there, and perhaps someone who can be the primary 2B instead of Gleyber, with Chisholm taking over 3B (or t…


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Edwin Ng
Edwin Ng
Jul 31

I couldn't believe the Yankees FO didn't get that we desperately needed is a legitimate closer. Either the FO is dumb or completely ignorant. Everyone knows Clay Holmes ain't it.

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Jeff Korell
Jeff Korell
Aug 01
Replying to

What I am hoping is that once Clarke Schmidt and/or Cody Poteet return, one of the starters can move to the bullpen. Since they are looking to limit the number of innings that Luis Gil pitches, with Schmidt back in the rotation, maybe they can fill that 9th inning closer role with Luis Gil, who would make an outstanding 9th inning closer. He has the stuff to produce 1-2-3 9th innings with multiple strikeouts.

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fantasyfb3313
Jul 31

both Andy and myself wrote in previous threads what we WOULD offer for Vlad Jr

I speculate that either one of our offers would have been successful. since Vladdy was not traded we cannot compare our offers to anything real and speculate is the best I can offer


but Flaherty did get traded

I proposed a much better offer. i said Warren and Selvidge, and 1 or serna, riggio, or hall

we WOULD have had Flaherty

the Dodgers got Kopech for basically 1 player

Andy offered one of Lalane or Lagrange plus Perazza and Periera


again someone is going to say that proves Andy and myself do not know how to make deals and we OVER PAY


well NEITHER of…


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Alan B.
Alan B.
Aug 01
Replying to

Detroit does not need 2B, 3B, or SP, for immediate use. With Ramirez & Neely gone, my offer would've been Vreiling or Carr, Stevens, & Rodriguez or Flores. If they countered that they wanted Rumfield as part of it, I could work with that too.

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fantasyfb3313
Jul 31

as I said yesterday, Cashman did JUST enough to make me (us) continue to hope. I have a million thoughts and I am still unable to get them organized. reading the comments above did not help me to get them organized

I do believe that Andy and I might be sharing the same brain. I basically agree with every word Andy wrote, which I think was another version of Cashman did JUST enough to make us hope


  • IF you are grading on a curve, i DO believe it is not wrong to argue that the Yankees had one of the best deadlines


IT CAN be argued that Chisholm is the best offensive addition that any team made. WHO is better…


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Jeff Korell
Jeff Korell
Jul 31

Jazz Chisholm......SO FAR.....(This could change, of course)........has been the best Trade Deadline pick up so far, in regard to his performance with his new club, so the Yankees have to be considered "winners" SO FAR, at the Trade Deadline.

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fantasyfb3313
Aug 01
Replying to

so far, Jazz is playing 3b much like Matt Chapman (a former SS) in regard to positioning. he is playing VERY deep- like a SS


again, i agree to a huge degree with what you are saying. it is far from the optimal way to do this!!

but BY FAR the biggest tool that Jazz has is that he is one of the VERY BEST athletes in all of MLB


he can get away with playing DEEP- like Chapman, because like Chapman, he has a BIG arm

i believe that he will make some stunningly spectacular plays


the biggest problems will be with things like where to go for cutoffs, covering the bag, covering bunts, the technical aspects of playing…


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