Yankees lost ideal catching trade target thanks to Padres' rise in NL playoff picture

I don't know, you guys. It sort of didn't hit me until the morning after that the Yankees didn't just pass on Adley Rutschman and Tyler Stephenson. They also lost out on Joey Bart, Henry Davis, and Jonah Heim. They simply didn't get anyone to catch. The Dodgers are the Dodgers. They don't need any help — and they got two catchers.

And while it's now incredibly clear their trade deadline was shattered when Mason Miller/Adrian Morejon/Hunter Goodman/Ryan Jeffers were all taken off the market to varying degrees, AJ Preller's proclivity towards buying also took them out of the running for a supplementary catcher I think we all would've enjoyed: Luis Campusano.

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Preller, faced with the reality of the Dodgers fielding the Tigers' call (backwards!) and securing Tarik Skubal, added Casey Mize at the buzzer and retained his super bullpen. He showed again why everyone wishes they had a GM who operated with similar aggression by summing up his deadline succinctly: "We're trying to win. We don't apologize for it. We're trying to win championships."

That's why Campusano, a member of the Padres' catching rotation who's a free agent after the 2028 season, was certainly not available mid-breakout. His .314 average and 156 OPS+ at a position where nobody hits anymore would've looked like the arrival of one of the apostles himself in a Yankees lineup where Austin Wells, who's started behind the dish for a full season, has 16 RBI on the year. That's including two on Monday night.

Instead, much like their ill-fated pursuits of Miller ... no, Morejon ... no, Wandy Peralta, I guess? ... the Yankees came up short on Campusano and likely didn't even have a chance to ask about him. The deadline did not break in their direction. The Twins got too good. The Padres parlayed a perfectly-timed winning streak into some fan service. Shea Langeliers hit the shelf. The Red Sox went gaga over Rutschman's wonked-out wrist and emptied the farm. The Yankees' cupboard of catching options was far more barren that it seemed like it would be.

Campusano was the dream. But Heim and Bart were standing right in front of them all along, and could've at least scratched the itch. Instead, we mourn what could've been, what actually was, and the silence that followed, as Brian Cashman froze and wondered, "Man, I wonder if I'll ever drop a quote that's as universally beloved as that Preller gem ever again."

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