BOSTON — With two of the three pillars of their $283 million offseason investment to upgrade the lineup not doing the job, the Yankees decided Thursday they needed to add two offensive players to the mix hoping to avoid a second straight dark October.
After watching his lineup underachieve for four months, general manager Brian Cashman went to Hal Steinbrenner for the funds it took Thursday to acquire the versatile Martin Prado from the Diamondbacks and infielder Stephen Drew from the Red Sox.
Having invested so heavily in Jacoby Ellsbury ($153 million), Brian McCann ($85 million) and Carlos Beltran ($45 million), Steinbrenner didn’t believe it was right to sit back and hope against hope McCann and Beltran would play to their salaries and Mark Teixeira would stay healthy.
“Offensively we need to be better,’’ Cashman said after shipping Kelly Johnson to the Red Sox for Drew and $500,000 and power-hitting prospect Peter O’Brien to the Diamondbacks for Prado.
The moves came together a few hours before Thursday’s 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. At the time of the deals, the Yankees were 5 ½ games behind the AL East-leading Orioles and three lengths back in the race for the second AL wild-card ticket.
Drew, 31, will take over for Brian Roberts at second base despite never having played a big league game anywhere but shortstop. He didn’t sign until late May and it has taken a while to knock off the rust. He is batting just .176 (23-for-131) this season.
Cashman is selling Prado, 30, as a versatile player who will provide Joe Girardi flexibility because he can play second base, third base and the outfield. However, it appears Prado will get the bulk of playing time in right field, where Ichiro Suzuki’s bat has died. Prado has played 246 games in left but never has started one in right as a big leaguer.
With Chase Headley at third, Drew at second and Brett Gardner in left, right field will be where Prado plays.
Traded from Atlanta to Arizona in the 2013 deal that sent Justin Upton to the Braves, Prado, a career .290 hitter, is batting .270 with five homers and 42 RBIs. He is in the second leg of a four-year deal worth $40 million and owed $11 million in 2015 and 2016. The Yankees are on the hook for roughly $3.65 million of Prado’s $11 million this season.
“That’s a good acquisition,’’ said an NL talent evaluator who has seen a lot of Prado. “He is still a good player, a legit guy who is good in the clubhouse and can play a lot of positions. That was a good move by the Yankees.’’
Drew, who turned down Boston’s $14.1 million qualifying offer, signed for $10 million. The Yankees will pay him about $4.2 million this year and he can be a free agent following the season.
When Drew was a free agent this past offseason, the Yankees believed his asking price of four years and $64 million was too steep. And their medical reports weren’t encouraging.
Now, Drew has a chance to impress to the point that he could be considered Derek Jeter’s replacement next season.
Headley can be a free agent and he can use this time to decide if The Bronx is for him although Alex Rodriguez, if healthy, will be in spring training next March.
“It certainly creates an opportunity for everybody to get to know each other,’’ Cashman said. “We all get an advance look at each other prior to the free-agent market.’’
But first there are the final two months of the season.
“I think we can compete and we are improved,’’ Cashman said. “And we are going to find out if it’s enough or not.’’