Yankees wisely chose not to panic as MacKenzie Gore trade shocker hits

After bringing back Cody Bellinger and watching the Mets pony up the prospect package necessary to land Freddy Peralta from Milwaukee (and Tobias Myers, somehow), the Yankees currently appear to have:

• A lineup that is totally fine, can beat up on bad teams, is a postseason worry, might lead the AL in numerous categories again this year, and would only have meaningfully improved with a total overhaul, which it's now too late for.
• A rotation that has red flags and injury recoveries to account for already, but is strong, young, and deep, from a bird's eye view. One more high-end starter would've been great, but ... it's far from the Yankees' weakest spot, and should be better than last season's unit that included Marcus Stroman and Carlos Carrasco. The prospects on the horizon will only further improve the outlook.
• A bullpen that is, uh, terrifying.
• A players' manager that makes Mike Brown look like Mike Vrabel.

Thankfully, the Yankees don't appear to be 100% done (even though they let many golden opportunities pass them by while waiting for Bellinger). Joel Sherman noted that they're still in the (thinner-than-it-was) bullpen market, and expect to add a right-handed catcher complement for the bench. Maybe, if they align on a starting pitching trade, they'll pull the trigger, but ... Peralta, only a one-year commitment and a clear right-handed No. 2, was a unique case. That might be the end of their search ... a reality that hasn't stopped fans from wishcasting rotation upgrade splurges anyhow.

Let's make it perfectly clear: the trade costs for potential starting pitchers were prohibitively high before Shane Baz went to the Orioles, and only got worse from there. The best remaining starting pitchers who might be had are almost universally left-handed. Thinning out your farm just to add another power lefty with potential (and problems) - such as MacKenzie Gore of the Nationals or Nick Lodolo of the Reds - would be a foolish and preemptive misallocation of resources.

And so, thankfully, when Gore went to the Texas Rangers out of literal nowhere (the textbook definition of nowhere) on Thursday in a 5-for-1 deal, it was nice to see the Yankees opt not to take the bait.

If the Yankees are going to get a starter, they have to provide a new and befuddling look to their opponents. Trading four more prospects for a hard-throwing lefty with an inflated ERA and command concerns - in a world where you're already tossing out Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, and Ryan Weathers - would be goofy.

Yankees don't need to overpay for Nick Lodolo after losing Freddy Peralta, MacKenzie Gore

Whoever the Yankees would theoretically add to their starting pitching mix, in a fan's dream, would have to be someone who could take the ball in a playoff series. You're starting your ALCS with a trio of identical lefties? Uh ... good luck with that.

Just because the Yankees got earnestly outbid for Peralta/Gore does not mean their next pivot should be to a worse fit who costs more. There's intelligent reinforcement, and there's unabated panic. Adding Peralta (or the unavailable Joe Ryan, or a bounce back depth piece like Johan Oviedo) would've been very interesting. Blowing up the moon for Gore or Lodolo would cause an entirely different issue, and wouldn't help the leaky bullpen in any capacity. The Yankees should use their remaining budget to bring in a sturdy reliever or two, and fans will thank them later, even if it doesn't look like a seismic shift at the moment.