Disappointing Yankees-Corbin Burnes trade revelation comes with possible silver lining

So it seems the New York Yankees did commit a sort of malpractice last week leading up to the Baltimore Orioles-Milwaukee Brewers trade for Corbin Burnes. Per SNY's Andy Martino, Brian Cashman and Co. felt the price was "too much" for the star right-hander.

It's unknown what the Orioles were asking the Yankees for, but the O's surrendered their Nos. 6 and 7 prospects as well as a first-round comp draft pick (something the Yankees quite literally could not offer, to be fair) for a full season of Burnes at ~$15 million, which ... is a price you pay. I'm sorry. Unless the Brewers were asking for two top-five prospects and more, there's no reason the Yankees shouldn't have dove in and gotten a bit uncomfortable here.

But what's done is done. The O's have their ace and the Yankees, while in possession of a very fine roster, probably need to find some way to respond.

They've added to the bullpen this week by trading for Dodgers left-hander Caleb Ferguson, which helps, but definitely doesn't do anything for the rotation or make the sting of losing out on Burnes go away.

But what if we told you there was speculation that Cashman and the front office could swing a trade during spring training? Could that interest you? After all, Cashman and his crew are "really f---ing good," per Cashman himself.

Insider hints Yankees might have pitching trade in the works after Corbin Burnes miss

Again, we'd love to know why the Yankees felt the famously cheap return for Burnes was deemed "too expensive" for Cashman's taste. Only reason we can think of off the top of our head is that the farm system/MLB depth was already compromised with the Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo trades ... but that's a fairly weak excuse when you consider how much of a difference-maker Burnes is. Why wouldn't Milwaukee have been satisfied with Everson Pereira, a better-appraised prospect than what Baltimore surrendered, Oswald Peraza, and Clayton Beeter? The O's have a famously stacked farm system, and were not asked to dip into the upper echelon, potentially because of the draft pick attached.

Either way, the Yankees must pivot now and at the trade deadline, since Burnes was rumored to be their top target come July if the Brewers fell out of contention. Though this is disappointing, it's encouraging that there are steps being taken to address the miss.

Most fans wouldn't go as far to say the Orioles just won the AL East with the Burnes trade because, well, they have no proven pitching beyond the right-hander, but they properly used their depth to make an impact addition and now have somebody to match Gerrit Cole toe-to-toe.

The Yankees need All-Star level help beyond Cole, and though trading for Burnes wasn't an absolute must, it was the definite ironclad alternative to shelling out money for Blake Snell/Jordan Montgomery if they wanted to upgrade the rotation.

But now the deep dives will begin for the front office, and fans can only hope the Yankees aren't done yet if this information is being leaked to the media.