Yankees' own international incompetence has delivered a surprising trade asset

As the New York Yankees look to fill their plethora of needs at this year's trade deadline, very few assets are off the table. In fact, top prospect George Lombard Jr. might be the only piece on the untouchable list, and his inclusion might have something to do with the fact that the Yankees view him as a contributor for the stretch run ... or not.

Point being, we will hopefully see Brian Cashman act with more aggression than he has in recent years, and in order to pull that off, he'll need to be willing to move pretty much any and all assets. With that, he'll have one chip that no one can match at his disposal. That's because New York is entering the trade deadline with a whopping $2,967,500 in international bonus pool money that can be traded. No other team in the league has over $2 million remaining.

The value of this isn't obscene. It must be used or forfeited by December 15, and most of the top international prospects sign in mid-January. With that said, it has some worth.

There are still intriguing players who can be gobbled up even at this late stage. The Yankees signed Jasson Dominguez to a franchise-record $5.1 million bonus in July of 2019. More recently, New York signed intriguing Taiwanese 18-year-old pitcher Chien-Fan Lai just last month.

Even now, there are some top youngsters left like Cuban outfielder Raider Sanchez, who MLB insider Francys Romero recently reported has received interest from more than 15 teams.

The Yankees can deal all or part of that nearly $3 million war chest to another club in search of an upgrade, and while that money has less value than it would have last December, it's something. It can serve as a nice kicker, and potentially save the team from having to include a prospect from the back of its top 30, or a lottery-ticket type teenager in a deal. In turn, that gives Cashman a little bit more in the way of assets to work with, though he doesn't really deserve much credit for the surplus.

The Yankees' large international bonus pool surplus is an intriguing trade chip that they deserve no credit for amassing

While it's nice to have this money now to use to help bring in veterans for the playoff push, it's not like accumulating this asset was part of some master plan. In fact, some of the Yankees' failings are what allowed them to compile such a surplus.

The drama surrounding former Yankees International Scouting Director Donny Rowland, who departed at the end of last December, led to a mass exodus of New York's pre-arranged IFA class. The biggest blow was losing Wandy Asigen, who broke off his long-standing agreement with the Yankees to sign with the Mets. Asigen was far from the only highly-touted youngster to spurn the Yankees.

By the time new international scouting chief Mario Garza came into the fold, most of the dust had already settled with the top international talent. Even if it hadn't, Garza wasn't going to be able to do much, as the borderline exploitative process that is international amateur free agency requires years-long relationships and handshake deals with literal children long before they're eligible to sign.

As a result of all of this, the Yankees suffered through a temporary disaster, but the incompetence led them to amass an asset that has value on the trade market and gives them a bargaining chip that no one else can match. This is definitely a case of being lucky instead of good, but if it helps seal a crucial trade deadline deal, then we'll take it.

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