What’s the point of bluffing?
We all know that by 4 p.m. Eastern time on July 31, the Yankees will have imported at least one new player via trade. Brian Cashman knows it. So the Yankees general manager essentially acknowledged as much Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
“We usually make moves every year,” Cashman said before the Yankees thumped the Blue Jays, 7-3, for their second straight victory over the American League East leaders, “so I expect to make moves.”
The natural follow-ups are: 1) For whom? 2) In return for whom? And 3) How soon? The answers to those remain unresolved at this early juncture, but we can start to get the lay of the land, just as Cashman and his fellow general managers do in their recurring correspondences.
The early guesses are: 1) Definitely a moderate-ceiling starting pitcher — think the Cubs’ Jason Hammel — and possibly a lower-cost infielder like San Diego’s Chase Headley; 2) A good but not great prospect like catcher John Ryan Murphy; and 3) Not for a while yet.
Cashman faces an unusual dilemma: His greatest external need appears to be starting pitching, yet his biggest current headache has been the team’s offense, thanks to the underperformance of big names Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann and Alfonso Soriano.
McCann powered the Yankees Wednesday with five RBIs, tying a career high, and Beltran and Soriano each contributed a single, so maybe this problem will start to remedy itself.
Parity has created an industry nearly full of contenders. At this juncture, the only guaranteed sellers appear to be Tampa Bay, San Diego, Arizona and the Cubs, and the Rays sure as heck aren’t about to help the Yankees — especially with players signed beyond this season like ace David Price.
“Usually when everybody’s bunched together, it constrains the ability [to complete trades],” Cashman said.
The Yankees have known since they opened for spring training their infield ranked as a major liability, and time hasn’t erased that reality. Headley, who finished fifth in 2012 National League MVP voting, brought a lowly .628 OPS into Wednesday’s action. He did put together a decent 2013, however, on top of his excellent 2012. Arizona second baseman Aaron Hill carried a slightly superior .690 OPS, but he is a defensive liability.
Internally, second baseman Rob Refsnyder, recently promoted from Double-A Trenton to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barres, might help. Or he might wind up as a trade chip.
That brings us over to the pitching, which has held up admirably well in light of serious injuries to Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda and CC Sabathia. Cashman professed a hope he can get back Pineda (right shoulder blade) and Sabathia (right knee) at the start of August, yet he conceded that timeline is volatile. So Cashman will search outside.
Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija is under control through next year, while his teammate Hammel is an impending free agent. The Yankees could benefit greatly if the Mets followed Post colleague Joel Sherman’s suggestion and shopped Bartolo Colon, Dillon Gee and Jon Niese.
“I feel that we do have the ability to make trades if that’s a route we so choose,” Cashman said. “How we line up with other clubs, I don’t know … but I definitely have people that are wanted within the industry. But we want those guys, too. We’ll see.”
The consensus is the Yankees have more trade chips than they did a year ago, although still not as many as some competitors like Boston. Murphy is highly regarded, as is Double-A slugger Peter O’Brien, and the Yankees have a number of interesting players at Class A. Double-A catcher Gary Sanchez has struggled.
If anything, the Yankees could make hay in trade discussions with productive, cheap major leaguers like relievers Dellin Betances and Adam Warren. Yet it would be highly unconventional for them to take pieces away from their big league club as they’re fighting for a pennant, and Warren might wind up replacing Vidal Nuno in the club’s starting rotation.
Remember also the Yankees’ greatest attribute at this time of year is their willingness to take on salary. That could be a factor if Philadelphia’s Cliff Lee, for instance, gets healthy by August and the Phillies are done.
These trades usually take time to unfold, as teams wait for their partners to grasp reality and lower their price. So bet on the Yankees needing to tread water without help for maybe even another month.
“My first interest would be to acquire something spectacular and give up absolutely zero,” Cashman said, smiling. “And I’m going to try to play as close to that as I possibly can first, and then I’ll play as far away from that as I have to get.”
He’ll go far. And he’ll get something. Because he always does.