New York Yankees Editorial: How Will Top Prospects Shape Yankees Trade Deadline?

With the trade deadline just over two weeks away, the New York Yankees are expected to be one of many teams looking to upgrade.  The Yankees are in first place, but they could use some upgrades, particularly in their rotation.  With big names such as Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels, Justin Upton, and possibly even David Price on the market, teams will have a chance to turn into an instant contender.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, recent history suggests that the Yankees will not be making a deal for one of the big names mentioned.  The Yankees have only made one July trade in the past ten years which included a top prospect.  That trade was in July of 2010, as they agreed to send Jesus Montero for Cliff Lee, but it never came to fruition, as one of the Yankees other prospects involved, David Adams, was injured.

Outside of that blockbuster move, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has done three things in July’s trading season: Strengthen and deepen the overall roster, take on contracts other teams don’t want to lower their asking price, and trade from organizational depth.

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As the Yankees have no glaring holes that must be addressed, it is likely Cashman sticks to what he has done in previous July’s.  After finally building up top-level minor league talent, the Yankees don’t seem inclined to part with players such as Luis Severino, Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Jorge Mateo, and, to a lesser degree, even Gary Sanchez and Rob Refsnyder, the latter of whom debuted this past weekend.

Barring injury to a starter, the Yankees don’t seem likely to make a move for a starter, as they are in no rush to move CC Sabathia or Nathan Eovaldi out of the rotation.  Even if injury does hit, the Yankees have Adam Warren, Luis Severino, and Bryan Mitchell waiting for a crack at the rotation.  The team seems more likely to upgrade from within, as they did at second base.

One area where the Yankees could make a move is in the bullpen.  Although Warren is back in the seventh-inning role for now, it wouldn’t hurt to add another right-handed reliever, and trading for one shouldn’t be expensive in terms of prospects.

Three areas the Yankees could actually end up trading from are left-handed hitting outfielders, bullpen arms, and starting pitching.  All three are areas the Yankees possess some level of depth in the minor leagues.

In what figures to be an interesting trade deadline, the Yankees could be much less active than rumors suggest.  For the first team in years, fans seem to want the Yankees to hold on to their top-level minor league talent, and if history is any indication, the team could do just that.

Next: New York Yankees Editorial: How Top-Heavy Power Will Help Yankees Win The AL East

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