The Athletic connecting Yankees to huge number of trade targets confirms aggression

What do the New York Yankees need at the upcoming trade deadline to make their roster whole? A third baseman, a second baseman, a left fielder, bench depth, a pair of relievers, and a high-upside starting pitcher should be almost enough.

Perhaps that's why The Athletic connected them to an almost unreasonable number of trade targets in their most recent deadline primer. If they're going to be as "aggressive" as Bob Nightengale suggested over the weekend, then they'd better be in on all of these guys (and more).

The Athletic's Trade Deadline Big Board dropped on Monday (subscription required), ranking the top 50 players who could change hands over the next few weeks. The first surprise? They were able to find 50 movers, given the stagnant state of the market and Tanner Scott begging out of Miami since mid-May without changing sides yet.

The second? The sheer number of names the Yankees were connected to as Brian Cashman looks to remake the roster on the fly, otherwise known as a "2022, but good this time".

Yankees trade targets include Jack Flaherty, Yandy Diaz, Carlos Estévez...

And now, onto page two of 48.

Among the possible Yankees targets listed here were Tigers rental right-hander Jack Flaherty, Detroit's ace Tarik Skubal, Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald, Arizona's first baseman Christian Walker, and Rockies All-Star third-sacker Ryan McMahon.

Oh, and there were also others! The Yankees were listed "first" among three possible trade partners (something? nothing?) for Rays slugger Yandy Diaz, Angels infielder Luis Rengifo and closer Carlos Estévez, and Flaherty. Notably, they were not connected at all to either Frankie Montas of the Reds or Jordan Montgomery of the D-Backs, in case you really enjoy reading into things.

The Yankees proved throughout May and early June that, when healthy and clicking, they can play with any team in baseball, especially without a clear-cut World Series favorite emerging behind the Phillies. Now, it's that dark period of the soul where everything that can go wrong seems to, and it can be difficult to convince yourself that good things and on-field success are still possible.

That means it's Brian Cashman's job to dig as far out of this dirt pile as he possibly can. It may sound laughable now, but if the deadline includes a bopper like Diaz, a closer like Estévez, a starter like Flaherty, and a transformative infielder like McMahon, it wouldn't be so difficult to envision an in-season turnaround.

At the very least, this talented laundry list emphasizes the industry perception that the Yankees shouldn't be counted out quite yet.