Brian Cashman can drop the hammer with Yankees blockbuster trade after Cody Bellinger reunion

Brian Cashman's successful re-signing of Cody Bellinger took way too long, and it happened within an altogether underwhelming offseason for the New York Yankees. Don't think for one second that Belli's deal means that the Yankees have reclaimed their place near the top of MLB's sphere of spending power and influence, alongside the New York Mets and looking up at the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Before Yanks fans could properly celebrate Cashman warding off the Mets for Bellinger, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns traded for Freddy Peralta on Wednesday night, pushing the Mets back to the top of the MLB news cycle and shoving the Yankees out of the conversation once again.

That being said, Cashman still has the chance to pull off an epic flex this offseason that would humble the Mets, and maybe even get the Dodgers' attention. This would be none other than a trade for Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.

Yankees Rumors: Tarik Skubal trade buzz must have New York involved

If a Skubal trade still has the potential to happen, one way or another ... why shouldn't the Yankees get involved? If the two-time Cy Young winner isn't dealt before the season, he'll be the hottest topic in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline. As ESPN's Buster Olney pointed out recently, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris hasn't given any indication that Skubal is not available.

Harris made a point in December to remind everyone that no Tigers player is untouchable, Skubal included. That wasn't exactly a Skubal trade announcement, but Olney's intel reveals that Detroit has possibly been ramping up preparations to trade Skubal in light of the recent, jarring arbitration gap between the club and its ace.

"He's not coming back after next year," Olney said of Skubal, while arguing that Detroit would be wise to trade him for something like five elite prospects.

If you're Cashman, why not just throw the entire farm at the Tigers and see where the conversation goes? This is Aaron Judge's prime we are talking about. Judge is arguably a top-five Yankee talent of all time. Do we think George Lombard Jr. (despite his immense talent) or any of New York's other top prospects have that kind of career ahead of them?

Then again, the Yankees simply can't remove too much MLB talent from their roster, and the latest rumor about the potential trade talks suggests the Tigers asked about Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler (in addition to much more). The Yankees shouldn't be looking to get away with highway robbery here, but they need to find a balance between surrendering fair value and affecting their championship window.

There's no reason Cashman can't get on the phone with Harris and figure out what it would take, which would likely be a combination of top prospects and major-league pitching. Will Warren and Luis Gil were two names recently thrown around in Freddy Peralta rumors. In a Skubal discussion, it would likely be Cam Schlittler supplanting one of those two, and so be it. You give Harris basically whatever he wants for Skubal.

If Cashman stays on his current course of complacency, the Judge Era will likely expire without a title to show for it. On the other hand, adding Skubal and extending him would be a generational turn of events that makes the Yankees bonafide contenders for the rest of Judge's career. It would be a legacy-altering achievement for Cashman, as well.