The only thing saving Brian Cashman from Yankees exile is Orioles' bad trade deadline

Very few Yankees fans were happy with New York's showing at the trade deadline. Brian Cashman walked away with Jazz Chisholm, Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel De Los Santos. It just wasn't enough for a roster in dire need of a boost at the time, and it barely helped the depth for a stretch/playoff run.

But there's good news. For as underwhelming as their attempt at a mini roster overhaul was, the Baltimore Orioles, the Yankees' chief competition in the AL, didn't move the needle much, either. and many would argue that their situation called for more impact additions because of their lack of veteran thump and star-caliber pitching.

The O's went out and acquired starters Zach Eflin and Trevor Rogers, reliever Gregory Soto, and outfielder Eloy Jimenez. Eflin (2.13 ERA in four starts, now on an IL stint) and Jimenez (.313 batting average in his first 48 at-bats, congrats on getting movtivated) have been good, but they really don't feel like postseason difference makers, which is what Baltimore needed. On the other hand, Rogers (7.11 ERA in four starts) and Soto (30.86 ERA in his first four appearances, now down to 15.43, which is nice) haven't been worth the price. Seranthony Dominguez? The Mets just walked him off twice, and he sports a 5.98 FIP.

Rogers was demoted to the minors on Thursday, underscoring the reality that the O's tried to fool us into thinking they saw something no one else did here, but really had no immediate plan.

Since the day of the trade deadline, the Orioles are 10-10, so the early returns suggest ... meh. That could obviously change, but it's pretty much been par for the course for how they've performed since mid-June.

As for the Yankees, they're 12-8 in the same span of time, but they didn't really make moves with intention. Chisholm was imported to be ... the starting third baseman when he's never played third base. Leiter Jr. was brought in to lengthen the bullpen, but he's since been overworked and exposed. De Los Santos might be designated for assignment at the end of the month (week?), assuming a number of bullpen arms return to action.

The O's deadline was, in a way, viewed as active and transformative. But since, Grayson Rodriguez went down with an injury, further putting pressure on Eflin and Rogers to perform, and Soto has been killing the bullpen (he's already responsible for plenty of early disaster). Jimenez has been a boost on offense, but that's not where the Orioles needed to improve. They acquired four pitchers, and so far only two have provided any sort of good output. One's hurt, and one's on the regression train.

Meanwhile, the Yankees have kept pace atop the division with the Orioles, despite an 11-24 stretch and a trade deadline that left a lot to be desired. Had the O's gone out and used their prospect capital to make star-studded acquisitions, Cashman's popularity would be even further down the toilet. Imagine calling the Marlins, having all this prospect capital, and not adding Tanner Scott to your bullpen?

The jury's still out on how these late-July additions will help either of these teams toward a World Series push, but what's turning out to be a missed opportunity by the Orioles could end up saving the Yankees. And Cashman might be able to slither his way out of another ineffective trade deadline during this championship window that's failed to be maximized since 2018.