Yankees Brian Cashman might trade away a blue-chip prospect today

The Yankees have seemed to have all eyes on the future. Now one of those eyes might have started looking at the now.

The 2017 Yankees have a stated policy of not trading any of their top prospects. But recent events might have signaled a change. The Athletics are scouting Blake Rutherford, and that might be the first sign of a big trade.

After all, Brian Cashman and the Yankees see what we see: a World Series-worthy offense and an out of it by mid-August pitching staff. What to do, what to do.

The fans and the front office have seemed to be in agreement, up until now. The team has acquired some of the best talent not yet playing in the majors and needs to let them develop. And we all see the possibilities. Every time a kid comes up, he seems to show real promise.

Clint Frazier is playing better in the Bronx than he ever did in Scranton. And Miguel Andujar keeps raking down at Triple-A, after showing his bat was ready for Broadway.

But we still have no real idea who can play at a high level over the course of a season. Therefore, the Yankees need to keep all their most talented players and aim for multiple championships in the coming years, as Cashman has publicly endorsed:

"“We have a long-term plan that I think people are seeing the excitement from. We’re definitely not going to deviate from that, but also, part of that long-term plan is in the short-term winning now and putting out the best effort possible. But not at the expense of what we feel can lead us to more championships, plural.”"

So Far So Good

So, the thinking seems to be, why trade for the best pitchers in baseball when so many of them will be free agents over the next three years?

The allure of winning now, however, might be proving too tempting. Multiple reports agree that the Oakland Athletics have been scouting the Charleston Riverdogs. This is troubling news.

There are two possible scenarios. One is that the two teams will trade inexpensive pieces; likely lesser known candidates from the Riverdogs include Ryan Lidge and Dalton Blaser. Cash might be getting ready to do another smart Garrett Cooper/Tyler Webb trade. That makes a lot of sense and is in line with the stated company policy.

Or they could be after Yonder Alonso. He is an All-Star as well as a free agent. That last bit keeps him from costing the Yankees a blue chip prospect. They might have to give up a Justus Sheffield, but not a Clint Frazier.

And there is reason to think this is true as the Yanks have been widely reported as scounting Mr. Alonso. They are also scouting Lucas Duda, and the two are probably worth the same compensation.

But there is another possibility. And you might not like this one.