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Yankees: 3 trades Brian Cashman already whiffed big on

By Thomas Carannante |
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 29: Starling Marte #6 of the Miami Marlins in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citizens Bank Park on June 29, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Marlins 4-3. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 29: Starling Marte #6 of the Miami Marlins in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citizens Bank Park on June 29, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Marlins 4-3. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
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Adam Frazier #26 of the Pittsburgh Pirates (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Adam Frazier #26 of the Pittsburgh Pirates (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /

It’s Wednesday, July 28. The trade deadline is Friday, July 30 at 4 p.m. ET. It’s less than 48 hours away. So far, the New York Yankees have acquired reliever Clay Holmes from the Pittsburgh Pirates and sent Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson packing for Cincinnati in a deal with the Reds that will feature a player to be named later.

Otherwise … just Trevor Story and Joey Gallo rumors that feel empty. We feel empty! Can the Yankees and general manager Brian Cashman ever get ahead of the trade deadline?

That’s what so many other teams are doing right now!

There’s yet to be a true blockbuster deal, but playoff-hopeful teams have worked to improve their roster to better position themselves for the final two months.

All the Yankees have done is watch valuable trade pieces get moved right under their nose for mostly reasonable prices while further depleting their own roster. Do none of the assistants in New York’s front office have Adderall to slip into Cashman’s coffee?! Come on!

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Just kidding, that’s illegal! But the Yanks have whiffed on three trades that could’ve benefitted them in a big way. What were they?

The Yankees missed out on these three talented trade candidates.

3. Adam Frazier to the Padres

Explain to us why the Padres feel comfortable plugging Adam Frazier wherever on defense and the Yankees didn’t feel the need to? New York’s had guys playing out of position all year! One more really would’ve crossed the line?

The MLB leader in hits went to San Diego for three prospects — INF Tucupita Marcano, OF Jack Suwinski and RHP Michell Miliano. That’s ONE top-10 prospect in Marcano and two outliers. Could the Yankees really not have done that?

Frazier would’ve provided outfield defense and a contact-heavy left-handed bat. If you made a player in a lab with exactly what the Yankees needed right now, it’d pretty much be Frazier.

Instead, the Padres acted early and the Yankees continue to wait (tick, tock) for the perfect deal to present itself. Look, we don’t want to give away premier talent for free, either, but we’re also not going to sit on everything until we get exactly what we want.

Pitcher Mychal Givens #60 of the Colorado Rockies (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Pitcher Mychal Givens #60 of the Colorado Rockies (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

2. Mychal Givens to the Reds

Shortly after the Reds made their trade with the Yanks, they went ahead and called up the Colorado Rockies, who sent them a third reliever in Mychal Givens.

We’re a bit surprised Givens wasn’t more heavily pursued by the Yankees considering his delivery is very similar to that of Darren O’Day’s, who is now out for the season with a hamstring injury. Though Givens relies more on his fastball, his devastating changeup and slider from that wonky arm angle would’ve been a spot-on complement to the flamethrowers the Bombers have in the bullpen.

Not to mention, he would’ve cost under $2 million and minimal prospect capital since his peripherals don’t align with his actual production (his exit velocity isn’t great and his FIP is almost two points higher than his ERA). The Yankees didn’t necessarily need another high-priced or elite reliever … they just needed a different pitching style that could, when called upon, eat some worthwhile innings.

Givens also has experience in the AL East having played with the Orioles from 2015-2020. Care to see his career splits against the two teams ahead of the Yankees in the division right now?

  • vs Red Sox: 2.41 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 37 innings
  • vs Rays: 1.88 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 43 innings

Just sayin’, that could’ve been smart.

Starling Marte #6 of the Miami Marlins (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Starling Marte #6 of the Miami Marlins (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

1. Starling Marte to the A’s

And finally, the team the Yankees are chasing in the AL Wild Card race, the Oakland Athletics, just got one of the players New York was heavily linked to in rumors.

The A’s traded pitcher Jesus Luzardo the Miami Marlins for Starling Marte, who’s hitting .306 with an .859 OPS and 22 stolen bags. He also plays plus defense in center and left field. Luzardo is an intriguing young arm, yes, but you’re telling us the Yankees couldn’t figure out a way to impress the Marlins more than the A’s did? Luzardo is 2-4 with a 6.87 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in 13 games this year.

Marte was a rental, so those are tougher to negotiate because GMs and execs do not want to surrender premier minor-league talent unless said acquisition is truly going to put their team over the edge through October. Would Marte have been that acquisition? No, but he would’ve gone a long way in helping address the various deficiencies on this team that have been further unearthed by a number of Triple-A guys taking over due to various injuries.

Given that the outfield market is largely barren (and expensive outside of Marte), however, it’s certainly frustrating that there wasn’t one Triple-A-caliber pitcher the Yankees would’ve been willing to part with or convince the Marlins to take given what we’ve seen from Luzardo this year.

We’re praying this whiffs won’t be hurting us at 4:01 p.m. ET on Friday, but it’s always concerning when it feels like the Yankees are sitting back and being reactive instead of proactive.

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