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

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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.

(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Should the Yankees Get into an Arms Race?

It is possible that the two teams are discussing a larger trade involving Sonny Gray; that would make Tyler very happy. But he might be the only one. Because to get Sonny Gray, the Yankees would have to give up a real, serious prospect. That probably means Blake Rutherford.

I hope that is not true. But, why else scout the Riverdogs? There are only two players worth a top pitcher: Estevan Florial and Blake Rutherford. But Florial has been slumping lately and is not ranked nearly as high as Blake.

Rutherford, meanwhile, has been showcasing his talent. He has batted .350 in his last ten games and belted a game-winning home run just the other night. If the Yankees are interested in getting Sonny, the Athletics are interested in getting Blake.

The trade makes a lot of sense, although the Yankees would have to throw in a couple of mid-range pieces, including a pitcher. But Gray (3.72 ERA) is a proven pitcher, not just in the majors, but in the American League. He is young and under team control until 2019. Okay, fair enough.

But I hope Cashman chooses not to make any such trade, for any of the best players including Florial. If this team cannot win with only the addition of bullpen help and promising Triple-A players, then it does not deserve to win. Not this year. Soon, yes, when the time is right; but not now.

Signs the Death Star will soon be Operational

The signs and portends are not favorable for a few reasons. One, too many players might have only had great first halves. Throwing away the best players in 2019 for players who prove not to be great for all of 2017 is a bad tradeoff. But, if the opposite proves true, the problem solves itself.

This team, as constituted, was good enough to get to the All-Star break four games over and in the Wild Card game. If the players are as good as they have shown, they should be able to repeat that without significant help from outside the organization.

The organization should only make a trade for Sonny Gray if the Yankees can bring up a pitcher who can approximate what Pineda did. And if you’ve ever seen Shark Tank, you’ll understand why. An investor never wants to loan money to keep a business afloat. Instead, she wants to loan money to help a business expand and dominate.

Getting into the Yankees Business

The Yankees should have the same standard. To be a championship club, they need to be able to replace Pineda with a farm hand. That keeps the organization as strong as it was in the first half and, when it adds Gray, makes it better than it was. That should be the vision: to create a better team than we already have.

But many of the most talented pitching prospects got injured, including James Kaprielian, Dietrich Enns, Dillon Tate, and Justus Sheffield. And the team seems disinclined to trust Chance Adams anytime soon. Therefore, the organization is not in a position to win this year.

Because, two, if you get Sonny Gray to replace Pineda–and he or CC or Severino gets injured–the team is in the same situation it is in now, but without some of their best prospects. That destroys the present and the future. Even Doc Brown wouldn’t be able to fix that one.

Instead, you replace Pineda from within and get Gray to replace Jordan Montgomery.

Addition by Subtraction

By sending Jordy down and bringing Enns or Adams up, the Yankees prepare to win in October this year and beyond.

Number one, they would limit Montgomery’s innings; they have to do that anyway. That helps him be both rested and stronger, and better able to pitch later in the season, perhaps in the playoffs. Plus, he has already shown he can handle the majors, which leads to…

…number two, they need to find out if Adams can be close to the pitcher he has shown at every step of the minors. Injuries and poor performance cannot be absorbed as easily in September. When they come, the Yankees will need arms they can trust.

More from Yanks Go Yard

They cannot find out about Adams or Enns in September if they don’t try them in July or August.

It’s simple: If Adams could replace Pineda, the team is as strong as it was in the first half. It is up to the players to replicate their performances and earn the postseason. Adding Gray now and sending Montgomery down creates the kind of depth and options that might make for a deep playoff run.

But it only makes sense if the Yankees replace Pineda internally.

Allow a New Power to Rise in the Galaxy

Because, if Adams (or Enns) can pitch to a sub-four ERA, somewhere in the middle of good Pineda and bad Pineda, the team should be able to ride the troika of Severino-Gray-Adams to at least the Wild Card Game if not the division.

And when Girardi wants to go to a six man rotation in September so that CC and Tanaka get extra rest, Jordan will be a trusted arm waiting to return.

September then becomes a competition for who will start in the playoffs, making the playoffs more likely. And, in the worst case scenario, the team enters next year with at least four young pitchers who are down-the-stretch, battle tested New York Yankees.

That’s how you prepare to win this year and beyond.

Adding Gray to the rotation while blocking Adams keeps the Yankees depth thin, which is the problem right now. At best, it gives the team a little more hope that it makes the playoffs this year. And it makes getting to the playoffs in the next few years a lot harder.

Next: Yankees Brian Cashman Might be the Biggest Free Agent of them All

So, no, the Yankees should not trade Rutherford, Florial, or any other top prospect. If that makes the 2017 World Series farther away, so be it. We might still get another Dodgers-Yankees World Series soon. Just not this year.

We still need to see what these players can become. And they are under control for a lot longer than 2019. The team might be ready to win now, but the organization is not.

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