Yankees spare Oswald Peraza, delay pitching trade with Aaron Judge roster move

The New York Yankees squeezed long man Allan Winans to the point of combustion in Saturday's blowout loss, demoting the right-hander in the postgame scrum. That news, predictably, got overshadowed by the reveal that Aaron Judge was hitting the 10-Day Injured List rather than the 60-Day, nursing a flexor strain rather than a tear. They'll be extremely cautious with him in the outfield, and he'll DH for a good portion of the rest of this season (if not the entirety), but he plans to return somewhere close to the minimum 10 days.

That seemed to necessitate an outfield roster move on Sunday morning, but instead, a surprise trade reversed that reality - and led to a stay of execution for Oswald Peraza.

Instead of either Everson Pereira or Bryan De La Cruz joining the Yankees, it'll be Amed Rosario for now, who can fill in at third, short, or in the outfield. Given that the Yankees have a capable three-man outfield of Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger, and Jasson Dominguez even without Judge, it's no surprise they chose to put off Peraza's still-inevitable DFA as long as they could. Maybe, if they do it after the trade deadline, no one will have room to claim him and he'll clear waivers? Probably wishful thinking.

As for the pitching side of the equation, the Yankees still have plenty cooking on the trade front, but ... not right now. They went internal this time, calling on left-hander Brent Headrick for another go 'round.

Yankees add Brent Headrick, Amed Rosario to active roster after placing Aaron Judge on Injured List

Headrick, a 27-year-old lefty taken from the Twins organization this offseason, hasn't pitched in MLB since the Royals series in mid-June, which was just about the time the Yankees' downhill roll began. He's allowed 20 hits in 16 1/3 innings with Triple-A Scranton, posting a 3.86 ERA. Given the team's trade deadline plans, he won't be around for long, and his 40-man spot is extremely vulnerable.

The Yankees' bullpen revamp will have to wait until the deadline gets closer, even though they should've brought in some form of life raft sooner, even if they're waiting on a blockbuster. With so many moving pieces, anyone with options is at risk in the coming days - including Ian Hamilton.

If and when his time comes, he'll be merely demoted. Peraza won't be so lucky.