Re-grading Yankees' 2022 trade deadline: What went so very wrong?

Captain Hindsight, reporting for duty.

Obviously, in the light of day, many of the Yankees' 2022 trade deadline deals look different than they did at the moment of execution. My knee-jerk feelings on all of these trades was well-documented with our instant reaction last summer; and no, I'm not just linking this because I gave theFrankie Montas deal a "B+" and worried about his shoulder.

A lot of the way we now view the 2022 trade deadline shifted this offseason, and not just because of the announcement of Montas' surgery. In all, the shuffling looks a lot more profound if Andrew Benintendi comes back to finish the job this offseason rather than accepting a freaky high offer with the Chicago White Sox (best of luck!).

Things had, of course, already changed when Benintendi was taken out of the Yankees' playoff run, where he was supposed to play the role of "Astros Killer". They changed when Scott Effross was ruled out for last season and the 2023 campaign, just before the playoff roster was announced. And yes, they changed when Montas showed up with a busted wing and was never able to fix it.

The 2022 trade deadline instant grade was optimistic for a reason. The Yankees surrendered very little for Benintendi. They gave more for Montas and Effross and, in doing so, patched up their three biggest deficiencies. Unfortunately, they didn't receive more than a month's worth of patches. No matter what the pitching prospects surrendered ultimately amount to, it's hard to look back at this deadline with even a semblance of the joy we felt in the moment.

You know, the moment before Jordan Montgomery was traded, which wrecked the deadline ... but also somehow got the Yankees the best asset they accrued in any deal last year? We're tired. It's tiring. Let's do it.

Re-Grading the 2022 Yankees Trade Deadline (aka Grading Disasters on a Sliding Scale)