Yankees Brian Cashman Made a Big Mistake by Not Trading Austin Romine

Austin Romine‘s trade value may never be higher than it was in July. The Yankees might find themselves waiting for a draft pick that will never come.

Heading into this season, there were many questions about Yankees players. Which of the new guys would work out, which young players from the minors would come up, and—if things went bad—who was likely to be traded, were all debatable. But there was one thing I knew for sure would happen in July: Austin Romine would be traded.

Brian Cashman and the Yankees blew it on this one. Romine is currently a wasted spot on the roster and bench. Plus, trading him would have allowed another young player to get much needed experience. But now that Gary Sanchez is playing every day and Brian McCann is serving as his primary backup, Austin Romine’s trade value has fallen for several reasons.

Before, he was an excellent back-up catcher getting consistent at-bats. The focus was on how his offense seems to have caught up with his defense. He was the guy playing well enough to keep the heralded Gary Sanchez in the minors. Trading him in July would have been trading high.

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Now, he is clearly the third catcher with little chance to showcase his talents. He rarely plays and why would he? There are two better catchers in front of him. Now that it is clear he is far less talented than Sanchez, teams know the Yankees do not need him. If his value has dropped for the Yankees, it has dropped for potential trading partners, as well.

Yes, I know they will never trade with the Mets

The main argument for keeping Romine is to receive a compensatory draft pick. The Yankees and other teams regularly prioritize draft picks ahead of trading for lower-level minor leaguers. But in this instance, that is the wrong direction.

This off-season will see a number of catchers on the market,  including experienced starters such as Alex Avila, Jason Castro, Dioner Navarro and Giovanny Soto.

Most of these catchers have been full-time backstops; that is not true for Mr. Romine. This cuts both ways, however. He might not have the experience that these players have but his knees have not taken the abuse theirs have.

Between splitting his time in the minors with the other catching prospects and considerable time as a big-league backup, his knees should be fresher. He is younger than most of them, at 27, with less wear and tear on his body.

This means his value would have been higher at the trade deadline. In the heat of the pennant race, the pressure is on general managers to bring in the players needed to make the postseason. Their desire makes them focus on the positives. And there are always teams dreaming of the postseason who need a catcher; the Mets come to mind.

But when GM’s weigh these factors calmly and coolly in the off-season, they will undervalue the wear and tear and overvalue his lack of experience. They will have to decide if Romine is worth a compensation pick. He will be lost in a sea of other catchers. If he goes unsigned, not trading him was a mistake. Unless…

How Different is the Yankees New Approach?

There is one scenario, however, that would make this a carefully thought out plan, and not a screw-up. That is if Cash and the Yankees are planning to trade Brian McCann and keep Romine as the back-up. I would love this plan. I want them to trade Brian McCann almost as much as Brian McCann does.

But it would be unusual for Joe Girardi to have both his catchers be so young and inexperienced. He usually likes a veteran catcher around to mentor the young guys. Having Sanchez as the primary and Romine as the back-up would represent a real sea change for Cash, Girardi and the Yankees.

I hope that is the reason they did not make a trade. I like Romine and respect his abilities. Keeping him as an excellent, low cost back-up backstop makes sense. But if they trade him in the off-season—or worse yet, are unable to trade him—then Cash and Yankees made a big mistake.

Next: Gary Sanchez: The Force Awakens

Cash and Romine have had great seasons. I am already curious about their off-seasons.