Yankees: Q&A with Bryan Hoch, Yankees Beat Writer for MLB.com
By Marcus Guy
Marcus:
Do you think the Yankees will make a big trade before the deadline?
Bryan:
I’d be guessing at this point, but like I said, I think that they’re big pickups are the guys who are on the injured list. They may make trades. I think that Brian Cashman is always looking to improve the team. You’ve seen some smaller deals, Cameron Maybin for one, Mike Tauchman at the end of spring training are two examples. These are small, role player moves that they can make.
I think that the biggest additions they’re going to make this year are getting Judge, Stanton, and Severino back. Just go down the list of the guys on the injured list. Those players are a heck of a lot better than what is out there, and teams are going to ask for top prospects to in any deals for top-end talent.
I was walking in the ballpark today, and somebody asked me, “Do you think the Yankees are going to trade for Marcus Stroman?” I think that Stroman would be an interesting fit. I know he’d love to come to New York and he’s a Long Island guy. But you’re going to have to give the Blue Jays a whole lot more than you gave them last year for J.A. Happ considering Stroman is in the prime of his career and he’s under team control for a couple years with a team friendly contract.
So, do you really want to give up an Estevan Florial, for example, to get Marcus Stroman? I mean, maybe you talk about it if you’re in a pennant race and fighting, and you think that’s going to make the difference. But I think the Yankees have enough coming back off of the IL that they can stand pat at the break or make smaller moves and still upgrade their team for the second half.
Marcus:
It always seems that whatever trades Brian Cashman makes, turn to gold. You have the Didi trade. You have the Hicks deal. Urshela has been great…
Bryan:
How about Luke Voit? Last August, I don’t think any of us were even paying attention to that Chasen Shreve and Giovanni Gallegos for Luke Voit deal. And look what it’s turned into. Voit is now your starting first baseman and has kind of relegated Greg Bird to an afterthought. Nobody is really waiting for Bird to come back at this point. So, the job is Luke Voit’s.
I mean, credit to the Yankees’ analytics department for finding something there and looking through their statistics and being able to find those hidden gems. Urshela is just another example of that. They saw something that other teams did not, and they’re reaping the rewards of that right now.