Yankees get small trade deadline win as Braves learn harsh lesson they already knew

The state of the New York Yankees has not really changed at all since Memorial Day. Things are generally bad. They do not look like a playoff team. Brian Cashman's exciting work at the trade deadline hasn't really yielded the desired results.

But we'll take small wins wherever we can, right? And the out-of-left-field Carlos Carrasco trade just notched its second victory in a matter of weeks.

Yankees fans were genuinely shocked when Cashman received anything for Carrasco, who was largely terrible for New York at the MLB level but generally tolerable at Triple-A. But the Braves were so decimated with injuries that they needed any and every body available, so they tossed the Yanks cash for the veteran right hander.

About two weeks later, on Thursday, Carrasco was designated for assignment after three starts in Atlanta. His ERA and over that span? 9.88 and 2.12. Deplorable. But the Braves won all of those games he started. You cannot make this up.

Whatever the case, those 13 2/3 innings might've been the last of Carrasco's MLB career. It's hard to see him latching on elsewhere before the end of the year, and his work in 2025 can't possibly entice teams to bring him aboard this offseason. The Braves learned what the Yankees already knew very quickly.

Yankees get small trade deadline win after Braves DFA Carlos Carrasco

Carrasco was once a star for the Guardians. His stretch from 2014-2020 was admirable, but he completely fell off a cliff after he was traded to the Mets in the Francisco Lindor deal. The Yankees picked him up this offseason with the intention of using him as a seventh or eighth starter, but that quickly went up in flames when injuries took hold.

After a matter of weeks, Carrasco became a No. 4-5 and that's when the depression set in for Yankees fans. This unit was supposed to feature Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt, and it became Fried, Rodón, Schmidt, Carrasco and Marcus Stroman.

But even so ... was Carrasco the best acquisition even for a depth option? We thought so at first, but now that the 52-68 Braves said "enough is enough", it appears once again that Cashman proved he cannot effectively build depth beyond his star players.

Oh well, we'll try again next year.