Perspectives: Looking Back at the 2025 Trade Deadline

by Paul Semendinger

May 18, 2026

***

It wasn't even a year ago. Yankees fans all over the place were praising Brian Cashman for his outstanding Trade Deadline moves.

Those moves were supposed to make the Yankees champions in 2025.

They didn't.

Those moves were supposed to help build the foundation for a championship run in 2026.

They haven't.

Let's call it for what it is. The job Brian Cashman did at the 2025 Trade Deadline was not great. Those deals have not helped the Yankees win.

Shall we recap the players the Yankees have brought in?

Ryan McMahon - After years of trying non-third basemen at third base, the Yankees went out and got themselves a real third baseman. They only problem was they got one that can't hit.

In his career, Ryan McMahon has never had a 100 OPS+ (in other words, a league average) season. He came to the Yankees and... has been worse. His OPS+ in the Bronx in 2025 was 78. That's just about as bad as it can get. (Or is it?)

This year, Ryan McMahon's OPS+ is 57. He is batting .183.

David Bednar - The Yankees needed a closer. They thought they found one in Bednar who pitched reasonably well in 2025, saving 10 games (but blowing three games).

Of course, Bednar wasn't a sure thing. He struggled so much in 2025, that the Pittsburgh Pirates sent him to the minors.

This year, Bednar has three loses. He has blown two saves. His ERA is 4.95. He has become far from a sure thing and one has to question if he should even still be the closer (his 1.55 WHIP says otherwise), but, frighteningly, he is the best option the Yankees have right now.

Austin Slater - He played in a total of 14 games for the Yankees and hit .120. Since the start of 2024, he has played for the Giants, Reds, Orioles, White Sox, Yankees, Marlins, and now the Mets.

Jake Bird - It was bad that David Bedar saw time in the minors in 2025. Jake Bird has pitched so poorly that he has spent time with the Yankees minor leaguers in 2025 and 2026. He's blown two saves this year and has a 4.91 ERA.

Camilo Doval - Last year it became clear that Doval struggled when put into big spots. (Before the Yankees acquired him, that was already the knock on Doval. It seems he had to prove it to the Yankees.) Last year, he pitched to a 4.82 ERA. He had two blown saves as a Yankee.

This year he has three blown saves and a higher ERA at 5.19.

Amed Rosario - Rosario has seemed to work out. He hit .303 last year and it batting .267 this year filling in, mostly at third base (because Ryan McMahon cannot hit well).

Jose Caballero - He has become the Yankees' starting shortstop, we think. Caballero was doing great this year, but he is currently injured. The jury is out as to who will be the shortstop, him or Anthony Volpe, when he heals.

Who Did The Yankees Trade Away? - Now, I know some will note that the Yankees didn't give up much to get these players. And, to that point, they are correct. But, of the players they gave up, many are showing promise..

Jesus Rodriguez, a right-handed hitting catcher (the Yankees could use a right-handed hitting catcher), was batting .330 in Triple- A this year and has reached the big leagues. (He was in the Doval deal.)

Trystan Vrieling, a pitcher, is in Double-A averaging a strikeout an inning. (He was in the Doval deal.)

Parks Harber, a third baseman, is in Double-A hitting .325. (He was in the Doval deal.)

Edgleen Perez, a right-handed hitting catcher, is in Single-A, but is batting .324. (He was in the Bednar deal.)

Oswald Peraza is batting .263 with 5 homers and an OPS+ of 119. Of Yankee infielders (non-first baseman) only Amed Rosario (123) has a higher OPS+ and only Jose Caballero (1.6) has earned more than Peraza's 1.2 WAR. (He was in the trade for Wilberson De Pena - who is , to be fair, tearing up the Rookie League in the Yankees system with a .390 batting average.)

Summary - The results have not been great. In fact, in total, he results have been mostly bad.

In the end, the best one can say that the Yankees didn't trade away great talent, or great immediate talent, but, on the other hand, they also didn't receive great talent.

Many fans held out hope that Brian Cashman would make big moves at the trade deadline last year to make the Yankees winners.

In short, those trades have not had overall positive results.

Brian Cashman received a ton of praise for the deals, but as we look back, less than a year later, the results have been discouraging, at best, and bordering on failure at worst.

If Brian Cashman's job was to bring in championship talent to bolster the team going forward, he failed at last year's trade deadline.

***

To all bloggers, reporters, podcasters, writers, talkers, and the like - Thanks for coming to SSTN. If you are going to borrow our ideas, it is only right that you give credit to the author and the site. If someone used your work and claimed the ideas as their own, that wouldn't be right. Please afford us the same courtesy. Thank you.