SSTN Mailbag: Catcher, First Base, And Bullpen Help!

The trade deadline was hugely disappointing. I thought the Yankees needed the following, in this order:

1. A hard-throwing, strikeout-dominant reliever

2. A right-handed hitting catcher

3. A good-hitting infielder to play 3B or SS

The Yankees filled exactly none of those needs. That doesn't mean that I'm unhappy with the trades the Yankees did make; to the contrary, I thought they were smart moves.

Getting the best power-hitter in the National League for spare parts and one or two 35-40 grade prospects is a fantastic trade, particularly for a team that was (is) in need of desperate offense. Many Yankee fans seem to take issue with the Heliot Ramos deal, but again, I think this was a smart trade as well. The Yankees are down two outfielders. Jasson Dominguez, talented as he clearly is, has not gotten the job done this season. Dominguez has been better against left-handed pitching this year, but Ramos is significantly better against both righties and lefties. This was a good baseball move, and it gives the Yankees a higher offensive ceiling, particularly against lefties. Yes, Lalane has tantalizing upside, but he's got serious shoulder and elbow issues in his past; I don't trust that he'll develop and stay healthy. Kent is a nice prospect, but a likely utility player years away from being a factor. These are smart moves win-now teams make.

That doesn't excuse not filling the 3 objectives I listed above. No big league shortstops moved. The price the Red Sox were willing to pay for an injured and underperforming Adley Rutschman was absurd. That said, I find it very difficult to believe that the Yankees couldn't have filled objectives 1 and 2 in some capacity.

I am far less critical of Brian Cashman than most, but one consistent trend we've seen with Cashman over the years is his unwillingness to overpay in a trade, even if he believes such a deal will get the Yankees over the hump. Particularly in an era where there are fewer sellers than ever at the trade deadline, prices on the trade market mid-season are going to be inflated. That's just the nature of the game. I think a fair criticism of Cashman is to say that he has yet to adjust to that reality, and it negatively impacted the Yankees' roster construction as they head into the home-stretch.

I gave Cashman a C/C+ for his performance this trade deadline purely because I do really like the Garcia and Ramos deals, but Cashman really whiffed by not at least getting one bullpen arm and an upgrade over Ali Sanchez.

As always, thanks for the great questions and keep them coming to SSTNReadermail@gmail.com. In this week's SSTN Mailbag, we'll talk about catcher, first base, and finding help in the bullpen! Let's get at it:

Matthew U. asks: [On Christian Bethancourt at AAA] - Can't we just bring him up now (a seasoned right-handed catcher who is hitting) and send Wells down?   I'm fine with a Bethancourt/Sanchez tandem.  I don't want to break the bank for Rutschman or Goodman.

I know that most Yankee fans aren't going to want to hear this, but since July 9th, Austin Wells is hitting .256/.373/.558, with 7 walks and 10 strikeouts. The walk rate is fantastic, the strikeout and whiff rates are manageable, and he's showing pop again. Anecdotally, I've also noticed that his bottom hand isn't coming off of the bat anymore, almost like something in his neck/wrist/hand has healed somewhat. Watching Wells lately, he looks significantly closer to the hitter I think he's capable of being. The Yankees desperately need him to keep it up and hit the rest of the season. He is capable of doing it.

What Wells is not capable of doing is being even competitive against left-handed pitching. We've seen that consistently during his time in the Majors, and now it's a feature, not something we can expect to improve. The Yankees acknowledged this fact by calling up Ali Sanchez earlier this season. Sanchez has a completely empty batting line that is almost entirely built on luck, and he is absolutely brutal to watch behind the plate. I don't care what the Yankees' internal metrics are telling them, but there are some mediocre defenders behind the plate barely playing for other teams that I'd prefer to see than Ali Sanchez.

With that in mind, yes, I think there's some possibility that we'll see Christian Bethancourt at some point. Bethancourt hasn't played in the big leagues since 2024 and was awful at AAA in 2025, but he's put together a really nice campaign at AAA this year, and he's been great in his first few games in Scranton. Bethancourt is passable on defense, an average pitch framer, a poor blocker of the baseball, but he has a rocket launcher for an arm. I can't imagine that he's worse than Ali Sanchez. The obstacle is the pitching staff - Bethancourt hasn't caught any of these guys, and would need a ton of work to get up to speed.

Honestly, I'm hoping a platoon-quality bat shakes free on waivers this month, but it's a tall order to integrate a new catcher into the fold unless they represent a real upgrade.

David H. asks: The Yankees have 3 first basemen right now with Luis Garcia Jr. on the roster. How would you handle playing time now and with everyone healthy?

My opinion from earlier this year stands: I think Goldschmidt is mostly done. Ready for some hard numbers?

This is Paul Goldschmidt's stats overall since 6/26:

Yikes! Some of you might be saying that it's because the Yankees have overexposed him against righty pitching. But here's what he's done even when he has the platoon advantage, which he has the majority of the time even since 6/26:

Lest you believe that this is a product of poor batted ball luck:

There's zero juice in that bat. Not to lay it on too thick, but here's how Goldschmidt compares with the platoon advanage to a player who was just sent down for underperformance:

Quite simply, there's zero justification for continuing to give Paul Goldschmidt playing time in any capacity other than as a defensive replacement. Yes, Goldy doubled the other night when he pinch hit for Wells, but the right move there was to pinch hit Rosario.

Right now, Goldy can warm the bench with Rice and Garcia playing everyday at 1B/DH. With everyone healthy? I can't find a good justification for keeping Goldschmidt on the roster, though the Yankees certainly won't cut him.

Garcia and Rice are excellent bats who should play regardless of who else is healthy.

Brian asks: Is there anyone who can come up from the minors to help the bullpen? It's thin after the Yankees jettisoned bullpen arms (bad ones, but still warm blooded bodies).

I don't know that I see any reinforcements coming from the minors this season. It would take a pitching injury or two for the Yankees to stick Elmer Rodriguez in the bullpen. Carlos Lagrange is dealing with a shoulder issue, and the Yankees would be really shortsighted to rush him back.

Given those factors, the best the Yanks can hope for is that Schmidt returns healthy as a good 1-2 inning weapon out the bullpen and that Warren and Weathers look good in the 'pen. I have greater faith in the latter than the former, and that's a lot of hopium.