Yankees: 3 trades other teams pulled off that prove NYY botched deadline

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The Yankees made zero moves at the MLB trade deadline on Monday.

Look, just about every New York Yankees fan knew general manager Brian Cashman wasn’t going to make a blockbuster trade, but to come up completely empty-handed at the 2020 deadline is just inexcusable given all of the injuries this team has at the moment.

Previously armed with the best outfield depth in the league, the Bombers suddenly need help in that area after Aaron Hicks suffered an injury over the weekend. Cashman said he was targeting a whole lot of pitching, but nothing came to fruition. Heck, we could’ve maybe used another third baseman/infielder given Gio Urshela’s bone spur! A lot of uncertainty.

Sure, fans probably would’ve been complained about one lame acquisition featuring a dopey No. 5 starter or another average reliever to help keep the bullpen afloat, but that’s at least better than nothing.

And guess what? We can confidently say the Yankees standing pat at the deadline was a big mistake, especially based on the countless other trades that went down across Major League Baseball. These three in particular prove that point.

Cameron Maybin #38 formerly of the New York Yankees(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

3. Cameron Maybin to the Cubs

If the Yankees needed OF help, why didn’t they go for Cameron Maybin?

The Yankees had the option of bringing back old friend and 2019 stud Cameron Maybin, who was traded to the Chicago Cubs for … a prospect by the name of Zack Short, who isn’t even ranked in their top 30. In fact, he played in only 63 games in 2019 (across AA and AAA) and wasn’t impressive. He spent all of 2018 in Double-A and it was more of the same.

Explain why the Yankees couldn’t get a deal done here if they needed an extra outfielder? Instead they were reportedly entertaining talks for All-Star Starling Marte, who would’ve no doubt cost them a significant amount, being that the Diamondbacks got Caleb Smith in return in their deal with the Marlins.

Why are we exploring high-priced outfield options and low-priced starting pitching options (reports suggested Taijuan Walker, Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman were all on the Yankees’ radar)? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? We needed another primetime starter, not some guy who’s going to be a No. 5 for the regular season and then not see playoffs.

Maybin would’ve been perfect. He knows what it’s like to play in New York (he slashed .285/.364/.494 in 82 games with the Bombers last year!) and is clearly a backup option at this point in his career. The Yankees need that since Judge, Hicks, Mike Tauchman, Brett Gardner and Clint Frazier are all likely more worthy of playing time.

Instead, we’ll deal with a shorthanded outfield!

Starting pitcher Mike Clevinger #52 of the Cleveland Indians (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

2. Padres’ big splash acquiring Mike Clevinger from Indians

The Yankees didn’t have to do this, but it showed prices weren’t that excessive.

Let’s preface this by saying that the Yankees should not have traded for Mike Clevinger. His ousting from Cleveland was concerning enough from a character standpoint and he’s still not of the caliber the Yankees need — another top-of-the-rotation arm with ample postseason experience was required for NYY, if they were going to go for it all.

But when you saw Clevinger, a promising young pitcher with two more years of control after 2020, was dealt for San Diego’s Nos. 7, 9 and 11 overall prospects plus a couple of marginal major leaguers in Josh Naylor, Austin Hedges and Cal Quantrill, it was clear other starters out there could’ve been had without having to gut the farm system (especially since the Pads also got OF Greg Allen and a PTBNL).

Why wouldn’t the Yankees call the Nationals about Max Scherzer, who is signed through 2021? How about Colorado Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland? If Clevinger, a guy who has the second-best ERA (Justin Verlander is first!) in MLB across 75 starts since 2017, could be had for that price, why couldn’t someone better with fewer years of control or worse with more years of control be an option? The Yankees have so much talent they can afford to part with.

We don’t know ongoing conversations the Yankees were having, but the fact that there weren’t too many spicy rumors followed by zero results indicates they may not have been as aggressive as fans would have liked.

Mike Minor #42 of the Texas Rangers pitches (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

1. Mike Minor to the A’s

The Yankees could’ve had Mike Minor for relatively cheap.

This is the one that should have everyone enraged. The Yankees desperately could’ve used another effective left-hander in the rotation with James Paxton on the shelf as well as the uncertainty surrounding JA Happ (even though he’s been really good his last two outings). We love Jordan Montgomery, but can he start in the playoffs? We don’t know.

So some insurance in the form of experienced big leaguer Mike Minor would’ve been great! He’s off to a terrible start in 2020, but that means he could’ve been had on the cheap, which is what Cashman probably would’ve loved! The Yankees GM never overpays for players and even when he’s made big deals, he manages to avoid parting with top names.

On top of Minor being acquired for a great price, the Texas Rangers traded him to the division-rival Oakland Athletics. General manager Billy Beane surrendered only his Nos. 13 and 19 prospects for the lefty, who owns a 3.76 ERA in 132 games (67 starts) since the start of 2017. He’s only got one postseason start under his belt, but he can eat innings and get strikeouts.

Isn’t this the guy you go out and get if you need rotation help? He’s cost-effective in terms of price and trade value, a veteran arm, and has no ties beyond 2020 (but you’d have the first crack at re-signing him). It almost seemed too good to be true. Instead, the Rangers were happy to make a rival who happens to be the second-best team in the AL even better.

The Yankees are hopefully they’ll get a number of key guys back from injury in the next week or two, but if they can’t stay afloat during that span, they’re going to look back at the deadline and have a lot of regrets.

Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees in action against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on August 01, 2020 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox 5-2. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

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