Yankees: Players Who Were Saved With 2020 Trade Deadline Unlikely

The 2020 MLB season will be shortened to 60-70 games, which means there probably won’t be a trade deadline.

The trade deadline is among the most exciting moments in sports for fans, but not so much for many players. Often times we see contending organizations offload prospects to crappy teams in exchange for stars who will expand their championship window (see: Astros trades for Verlander, Cole and Greinke).

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is no stranger to wheeling and dealing, and fans were expecting him to make big moves at the 2020 deadline to bolster the team’s chances at taking home World Series No. 28. Well, we can expect the deadline to not exist this year considering we’ll be playing less than a half-season (if there’s one at all).

Let’s take a look at some Yankees players who dodged a bullet with having to potentially relocate this year.

4. JA Happ

There’s no doubt the Yankees actually need Happ at the moment, but if the 2020 season started on time and was in full swing right now, the lefty would’ve become a possible trade candidate (after dodging all the offseason rumors) when Domingo German was able to return to action. Assuming Happ was doing a solid job and re-building his value after a lackluster 2019 season, Cashman would’ve had a much easier time finding a trade partner for the veteran. Trading Happ midway through the year would’ve given the Yanks an opportunity to give more starts/outings to guys like Jonathan Loaisiga, Jordan Montgomery, Michael King, and maybe even Clarke Schmidt. Oh yeah, and if Happ was on his way to reaching his 2021 vesting option, the Yanks would’ve definitely tried to expedite this move.