SSTN Mailbag: Trade Deadline Reaction

It's my favorite time of year. Yes, the trade deadline is always a lot of fun, but it is far from the events that make this my favorite time of year. No, I am at the tail end of my annual pilgrimage to Cape Cod, MA. The vacation itself is much needed, as this is my first in too long during what has been a very trying few months, but it also meant that I renewed my tradition of seeing a Cape Cod Baseball League game. Since the age of 5, I attend at least one game each summer to watch my favorite local team, the Orleans Firebirds (formerly the Cardinals...way to step on the little guy, MLB). For those uninitiated, the Cape Cod Baseball League is the best summer amateur wood bat baseball league in the country. Only the country's best college ballplayers are invited to play in the league, where scouts and team executives flock to see the best college ballplayers play with wood bats. The league remains the best opportunity for MLB teams to scout amateur talent, and performances, both good and bad, can heavily influence draft status.

I renewed my summer tradition of seeing a game at Eldredge Park on Wednesday night, with a fun twist: I took my almost-3-year-old daughter to her first baseball game, and she was hooked. That alone was worth the price of admission (games are free, by the way, though there are numerous opportunities to donate). If you have never been to a Cape League game, I highly recommend you go. It is possibly my favorite thing to do on the planet, and Eldredge Park, home of the Orleans Firebirds, is my personal Field of Dreams.

Every year, I'm glued to the games and I pick the players I want to watch closely. It's fun being able to say that "I knew [insert player name] when..." Matt Wieters, Mark Teixeira, Brandon Crawford, Marcus Stroman, and Joe Ryan are just a few of many players I can say that about (and I have stories about all of them, and more). This year, due to some personal circumstances, I really didn't get to do much pre-scouting, save for a couple of players...one of whom has a name you might recognize: Luke Pettitte. Yes, his father is one Andrew Eugene Pettitte. Sadly, Pettitte left the Cape just days before I got there, but the other player I was excited to see put on a show: Elijah Ickes.

Ickes is not a household name. He plays for the University of Hawaii and played his prep baseball in Hawaii, ultimately getting drafted in the 19th round of the MLB Draft out of high school, but went to college instead. I really didn't know what to think about Ickes' big summer on the Cape coming into the game. His college numbers don't necessarily jump off of the page (though they certainly aren't bad).

The game itself was one of the best I've seen in years, a defensive spectacle by both teams (truly, MLB teams could learn something). At the center of the defensive masterpiece: Ickes, who looked like everything a plus defensive SS should be. His at-bats were solid, but he didn't have anything to show for it...until the bottom of the 9th. Orleans was down 1-0, and Ickes hit a 2-run bomb to LF, where balls died all night for a walk-off homer. He showed real pop in his bat and he was surprisingly good defensively. I have a feeling Ickes has made himself a lot of money this summer, and it wouldn't shock me if he becomes a pick for someone in the top 5 rounds after his junior season.

In short, get to game on the Cape if you love baseball. It really is the best.

As always, thanks for the great questions and keep them coming to SSTNReadermail@gmail.com. In this week's SSTN Mailbag, I'll give my reaction to the Trade Deadline. Let's get at it:

Brian asks: I know it's early and we don't know everything yet, but when the Trade Deadline ends, can you give us your reaction compared to your ideal trade performance?

A lot of questions about the trade deadline, and this question gets to the heart of it. Let's break it down this way: here were the players coming and going in my ideal trade deadline scenario:

Andy's Players Acquired:

RP Adrian Morejon

SP Zac Gallen

UTIL Willi Castro

RP Griffin Jax

INF Daniel Schneemann

Andy's Players Traded:

1B/C Ben Rice

SP Will Warren

OF Spencer Jones

2B Roc Riggio

C Rafael Flores

C JC Escarra

SP Bryce Cunningham

SP Henry Lalane

1B TJ Rumfield

OF Everson Pereira

I gave up a lot, and got some good pieces! Here's what the Yankees actually did:

Players Actually Acquired:

3B Ryan McMahon

UTIL Amed Rosario

RP David Bednar

RP Camilo Doval

RP Jake Bird

UTIL Jose Caballero

OF/1B Austin Slater

OF Wilberson de Pena

Players Actually Traded:

SP Gage Ziehl

SP Griffin Herring

SP Josh Grosz

RP Clayton Beeter

OF Browm Martinez

C Rafael Flores

C Edgleen Perez

OF Brian Sanchez

2B Roc Riggio

SP Ben Shields

OF Everson Pereira

UTIL Oswald Peraza

SP Trystan Vrieling

IF Parks Harber

C/IF Jesus Rodriguez

SP Carlos de la Rosa

***

All I have to say is...wow! I'm going to cut to the chase: I think that this is at least an A- Trade Deadline performance by Brian Cashman and the front office. They clearly cast a wide net for improvements to the big league roster; even the most pessimistic among us must admit that the Yankees are a significantly deeper, more versatile roster than they were a few days ago. The Yankee bench went from a weakness to a strength basically overnight; the bullpen is now the deepest in baseball (I don't think that's an exaggeration, with 4-5 closer-capable arms); the infield defense is now excellent; and Boone has a plethora of options against both lefties and righties. All of this is great.

The big misestimate I made was that I didn't expect Hal Steinbrenner to take on any money at the deadline. I was wrong. McMahon fits beautifully, and he doesn't need to hit big to be a great player for this team, though he's hitting more than I expected. Caballero does a little bit of everything - he's a good defender all over the field, including SS, runs incredibly well, and does all of the little things the Yankees don't do well. Slater hedges against a long absence by Judge, and mashes left-handed pitching. Rosario can defend multiple positions and hits lefties well. Bednar and Doval are closer-capable arms who bring velocity and a different edge to the bullpen. Bird is a guy I expect to be much better away from Colorado, and has a pitch-mix Matt Blake handles quite well.

Most importantly? The Yankees didn't give up any of their best players to make these moves! That's a huge win. I would have liked to see a starter, but I'm not sure it was realistic in this market. Clearly, the Yankees didn't see an upgrade without giving up a lot. The Yankees are far better today than they were a week ago. I think this is a team that can compete for a World Series. That's at least an A- in my book.