Yankees' Trade Deadline Was a Complete Disaster. What's Next?
The MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone, and the Yankees are left with more questions than answers. Adam Weinrib and Thomas Carannante react to Brian Cashman's controversial deadline strategy, why the lack of catcher and bullpen additions is so frustrating, and how the Red Sox landing Adley Rutschman only makes matters worse.
Video Transcript
The Yanksco Yard podcast.
I'm Adam Weiner alongside Thomas Gante going live after the MLB trade deadline, 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time, it passed.
The New York Yankees had no more trades to announce, they said after the deadline.
OK?
There we go.
No more trades, that means the complete deadline picture is, what catcher did they get with the complete deadline picture?
What, what relievers did they add?
Oh.
Oh, OK, so, they brought in a first base DH type bat, leader in the NL and slugging, so that's a good move.
They brought in a platoon outfielder who crushes lefties to the tune of an 850 OPS.
That's a good move, I like both of those moves, really controllable platoon bat too.
Uh, Elliott Ramos of the San Francisco Giants and Luis Garcia of the Washington Nationals, two guys who can't necessarily play all the time against the other side pitchers.
Ramos isn't a starter, he's just a platoon edition who's very controllable for a long time and cost Henry Laland and Kate Kent.
I can see it.
Uh, Garcia , again, top slug in the National League, he moves Paul Goldschmidt into a faces lefties only platoon role, he'll play first while Ben Rice DHs Ben Rice, I guess, a permit DH now.
Um, anyway, what catcher and what relievers did they get?
Oh, they're down to relievers, Giovanni Cruz and Ben Grabel and Camilo Duval and Jake Bird actually all go out.
I love trading Camilo Duval, but.
There's 4 semi, I mean, I don't think Camille Duvall and Jake Bird are viable, but those are 2 guys who pitched for your big league bullpen this year, who are gone, uh, and Giovanni Cruz, the guy we all wanted to see all year, he's gone, and Ben Grable, who I loved at Somerset, he's gone, and in their place, they added no relievers.
Ryan Weathers and Clark Schmidt, maybe Kervin Castro, I guess, none, though, no relievers, and uh at catcher, uh, what, who were they able to lure?
Tyler Stevenson after missing out on Adley Ruchman.
That Adley Ruchman package to the Red Sox is insane, but also, it's what you have to do if you want Adley Ruchman to play for your team.
Brian Cashman said, no, I'm scared of the medicals, you should go to our biggest rival instead, the team that is on a 28-5 heater.
That's the team that you should go play for, we're instead gonna stick with Austin Wells and Ali Sanchez.
We're good here.
No Hunter Goodman, no Ryan Jeffers, no Stevenson, no Joey Bart, no Yvon Herrera.
There are even people I didn't want, who, at the end of the day, as it's like 5:48 p.m.
I'm like, you know what, I don't want this dude, but bring in Pedro Pajes of the Cardinals, I don't care.
Bring in anyone who is a righty.
Pajes is a 62 OPS plus, and he's defense first, and he's worse than Ali Sanchez offensively, but I'm like, literally, Brian Cashman said, catching is an issue, clearly.
About a month ago, July 9th, I believe that was, didn't address it.
Austin Welles took a swing the other day in Chicago where his hand fell off his bat, presumably still numb, still battling that numbness he's battled for a long time, uh, he's your starting catcher.
If this team makes the playoffs, he's your starting catcher.
They love the way he handles the pitching staff.
And I hope they're not wrong to love the way he handles the pitching staff, but Thomas Carante , welcome to the show.
I didn't think it was possible.
To have a trade deadline where I enjoyed all three of the individual moves that Brian Cashman made, and I still think it's the second worst ever, not picking a direction in 2023, whether you put it on Cashman or whether you put it on ownership hubris of not wanting to sell cause you're the prideful New York Yankees.
That was an embarrassing deadline where Keenan Middleton and Spencer Spencer Howard come in and they don't deal anyone from the Harrison.
Group, all of these, you know, rental, retread, they just don't do anything at all.
This, they got, they got some business handled, and I like the way that they handled their business.
But it's like Brian Cashman walked into a marketplace looking for a catcher and relievers and got distracted by some other stuff and forgot to circle back around to the stuff he intended to do as he meandered around the avenue.
I, I've, I've never been so perplexed by an inability to, and the quotes from Cashman and Boone about why they didn't get a catcher are going to break the internet.
Our website is going to crash.
It's, it's, I mean, this is, this has to be Brian Cashman's last trade deadline.
I mean, this is the last year on his contract.
Um, it, there, to me, there is just no feasible way this guy can be running the Yankees anymore.
I, I am, and I'm not saying that in a In a disparaging way.
He's obviously a good general manager.
He's the longest tenured general manager, president of baseball operations, whatever you wanna call it in the league, but not understanding the assignment for the last however many years it's been, um, you can really look back toward 2021 and 2017 being his most impactful trade deadlines, and 2021 for All of the hype that came with it ended up being a massive bust because Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo were historically bad Yankees when push came to shove and everything finally, and the dust settled on everything.
Yeah, Anthony Rizzo got elbowed in the head by Fernando Tatis's shoulder.
Joey Gallo is one of the worst players we've ever had on the roster.
Uh, 2017 remains the one, and I feel.
I feel like that type of deadline is the only deadline that Brian Cashman proved he's capable of pulling off as a big market GM.
The Yankees were not really in the playoff race in 2017.
They were a team that was just looking to kinda add vibes and add up the margins and You know, pick off of other rosters, uh, other, uh, teams roster excess, and he managed to do that, and it kind of reinvigorated the Yankees and it got them to where they needed to be.
But once the Yankees were a full powerhouse with, or perceived powerhouse with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and then Gerritt Cole later in the fold, they needed luxury additions that were going to push the roster over the edge.
And repeatedly, They did not make those moves.
The last two years, 2025 and 2024, it seemed like they were heading in that direction, right?
They acquired Jazz Chisholm in 2024.
That's like an echelon of below of what you would call uh an impact like FU edition for a contending team.
Um, same goes for David Bednar last year, like, good, but not like lights out and great, nothing that was going to say, oh my God, the Yankees have this player, this is my absolute worst nightmare.
The opposition was never saying that at any point over the last Again, even since 2017, that deadline was not intended to do that.
That deadline was intended to fix a roster that was not where it needed to be.
And now you have this year.
This team talked about vocally.
Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman, everybody came out and told the media, yep, we're gonna need some catching help, we're gonna need a little bit of outfield help.
Um, they acknowledged the issues with the left side of the infield, um, probably as best that they realistically could.
They acknowledged the bullpen situation, and what do they go out and get?
You mentioned at the top of the show, they got a platoon option at first base.
And they're acquiring a player in Luis Garcia Junior, who is not the player they are acquiring right now.
Luis Garcia Junior is playing way over his head at the moment.
He's, he is not playing to the back of his baseball card, and that is going to be a disturbing regression when the time comes.
And Helio Ramos, which again is a shrewd acquisition, not taking either of Brian Cashman traded essentially spare parts for Luis Garcia Junior.
It was a 4 for 1 trade, but no one there was really valuable.
I would maybe argue Jake Bird.
Rest in peace, by the way, hilarious to cut bait on Jake Bird after last year's deadline.
Jake Bird gone, so that's admitting a mistake, but also figuring out, figuring out a way to get off of him.
Excellent.
Um, Giovanni Cruz, I think, was an asset.
They didn't believe in him.
Whatever, you trade him in for the National League leader in slugging percentage.
Good deal, but you're kind of displacing Ben Rice, like, why is Ben Rice platooning with anybody?
He's supposed to be.
A future franchise cornerstone at first base, especially with Giancarlo Stanton in the fold for another year, eating up the DH role, especially with Aaron Judge aging and having to take over at the DH role.
So, I don't understand that one.
And then Ramos, again, like, good use of assets.
You trade the number 5 and 13 prospects for Ramos, who's controllable for 3 years beyond this year, but Uh, he's not a great defender.
He hits lefties well, um, and he's a solid ballplayer.
Just nothing that is changing the Yankees' fortunes in 2026.
So, I don't know if this means that they know.
The injury situation with Aaron Judge is not, it could mean one of two things, right?
They, they, they, they could be treating this deadline like, well, hey, we're getting Rodon, Stanton, Judge, and Bellinger back in a few weeks.
So like, that's a trade deadline in itself, the famous Yankees motto, uh, every single year when there's injuries, uh, Clark Schmidt, don't forget about him.
Or they could be saying, well, Aaron Judge might not be back this year, so like how much are we realistically going to buy and go all in for a season that isn't exactly lost, but if we don't have Aaron Judge, we're not.
We'll be lucky to get out of the AL, like really lucky to get out of the AL and we're not beating the Dodgers in the World Series, so, I don't know how to interpret it.
All I know is that once again, it's not enough.
Once again, you let the premier opposition punk you, and not just the Dodgers, right?
We could sit here and talk about the Tarek Scoble trade, Saturday night at midnight, all we want.
The Red Sox cutting the line for Adley Ruchman.
I don't really care how insane the package is, like, You let that player go to your rival after you had coveted that player.
It it just is what it is.
The Rays get catching help, Liam Hicks from the Marlins.
And The Astros end up upgrading in their outfield, which is something they needed badly.
They get a former division rival in Dalton Varho.
Um, not necessarily praising any of those moves like as revolutionary, but those teams all address needs, and the Yankees, like you mentioned, they went to the grocery store to get stuff for dinner, and they came back with a bunch of snacks.
Yeah, and no one gives a fuck.
It's, it's old folks' home level stuff.
It's, it's like grandpa's outside, holding, holding a box of photographs from your childhood.
You're like, Grandpa, what?
You're supposed to pick the kids up from daycare.
Look at you, look at you at the dance recital.
Oh, you look so beautiful at the dance recital .
Grandpa, our daughter is, she's waiting outside the middle school.
What did you do?
And it's, like, disparaging to Garcia and Ramos, who, like, Garcia is supposed to be a great clubhouse guy and the power will play and it's what the Yankees were lacking.
And Ramos, I like, don't love the move.
Again, like, the defense, we've watched Jason Dominguez play defense, we're gonna shove Ramos in left field at Yankee Stadium now, a place where we're too scared to put Jason Dominguez.
Yeah.
This is a guy who can't defeat, he's a butcher in the outfield.
Field and now he's your strong side platoon option out there.
Um, I, I do like the bat, and if he were the sixth move, I would say, hey, hey, good job picking up 2024 All-Star Elliott Ramos.
There was a time this week when I thought they were getting Joe Adele.
Like, I feel similarly about this, I probably feel a little bit better about Ramos, maybe a little bit worse.
I don't know, I genuinely can't decide, but I'm, I'm gonna get worked up about the casher thing.
And I'm gonna get so worked up about the catcher thing that I forget to get worked up about the bullpen thing, where Giovanni Cruz showed you this week in Chicago, he, like, gave you an example of what a bad outing could look like, where he pitched against the Blue Jays a couple of times earlier in the year and it was just easy, 101, 102, and we got infatuated, and then the Yankees wouldn't promote him and his numbers in the.
The minor leagues weren't very good and the control still wasn't good, but we all were like, jeez, I mean, look at the bullpen, they are dying for swing and miss, we gotta give them a chance.
And he showed you why the Yankees maybe were hesitant to give him that chance cause he just gave up, hit, hit, hit, he was too hittable, got knocked around by the Cubs late in that Saturday loss.
So, look, if you don't believe in Giovanni Cruz, Who came over as a minor league free agent, and you wanna use him and Ben Grabel, who I love, but who is still a Double-A Somerset, to be your package for, you know, Garcia Junior.
I'm fine with that.
You are trading controllable relievers with reliever ceilings for, again, the best slugging percentage in the National League this year, although you're right, his history is not very similar to what we've seen this year.
I, I really like that trade, even though it is redundant and strange, and we have Ben Rice slugging at first base, and slugging first baseman was just about the last thing we needed, and it's basically the only thing we got.
I don't mind the trade package we gave up to get him.
But then to backfill's never the issue to backfill the bullpen with no one is insane, yeah.
Uh, uh, it's the, the trade, the , the trade returns that the Yankees give up are never the issue.
We are never saying, how dare you trade that player.
That's the most objectionable thing I've ever seen.
Actually, I did complain last year when we acquired Jake Bird.
Just, that was only because I didn't, not that I believed in those prospects, but I was like, these guys couldn't have been packaged for somebody better.
There was no way to do that after all these other trades that we're seeing.
So, yeah, to trade, you, they started off trade deadline season by moving Camilo Duval.
Who again, they admitted defeat on two of what they believed were marquee trade acquisitions last year.
Duval gone, Bird gone.
They thought both of those guys were gonna fit into the picture nicely.
They acquired them with team control with the intention of keeping them for longer and having them be part of the, the, the future.
They weren't.
So they were, they, they got rid of both of them and Duval going to the Pirates to start off this deadline, made it seem like, oh, OK.
So, they are admitting that there are many a problem here, or they're starting to at least admit.
There are many a problem here, and they need to address these fast, and they need to get it done fast in order to get themselves to where they need to be.
So, you traded 3 bullpen arms in Bird, Duval.
And Cruz, I would call Bird and Cruz essentially one bullpen arm with how much they've contributed combined.
Duval, valuable bullpen arm, no.
Um, one of the last guys in the bullpen, eating up innings and not really mattering for me.
Yeah, that's the role for him, but you can't pay $6 million for that.
Either way, It seemed like they were looking to actually build upon previous mistakes or just move on from people that they knew were not.
Gonna be productive for them.
And then what do they do?
They acquire two, essentially two depth pieces, because at the end of the day, Luis Garcia is a depth piece, even if he's leading the National League in slugging percentage.
There's no fit for him on this roster to play every single day consistently at one spot.
I know Jack Curry was talking about the reality where Um, Garcia gets the starts at first base versus, uh, or him and Ben Rice are splitting reps, first base and DH, and then Paul Goldschmidt is going to get late pinch hits at bats against lefties and then get a spot start here and there when one of Garcia or Ben Rice need a breather.
So that makes sense.
Goldie will start at first against lefties, and Garcia probably won't.
You think?
I think, I don't think we acquired a starter at this trade deadline.
Yeah, no, I mean, I don't think so either, but the fact that Garcia is performing the way that he is, like, it's, you look at it and you're like, are we sure that this guy is not gonna be a star, like, it doesn't make any sense.
Again.
The deadline itself doesn't make any sense.
The vision doesn't make any sense.
The Yankees are just acquiring value.
Luis Garcia has value because he's having a career year and he's controllable through next year.
Julio Ramos has value because he's a Solid hitter, plays a good role against left-handed pitchers, has a little bit of pop, and is controllable for another 3 years beyond this year.
So the Yankees, again, we're just looking to kick the can down the road and make sure that they didn't have any objectionable.
You know, personnel decisions to make in the offseason.
Now, they gave themselves a little bit of breathing room from having to make maybe a couple of major moves in the offseason, but they didn't improve their picture for now, and they didn't drastically improve their picture for 2027.
Um, and at that point, after they got rid of Oval, in the back of your mind, you're saying, OK, does that mean They're gonna admit defeat on Ryan McMahon, doesn't mean they're gonna trade Jazz and get something else of value for him and figure out the second base situation.
Are they finally gonna move on from Volpe?
Is Trent Grisham on the table to get sent out of town, and then we can Have an outfield alignment with Spencer Jones and um Jason Dominguez playing every day after Cody Bellinger comes back.
No, nothing.
Kept the same team with the exception of getting rid of two guys who weren't factoring into the situation anyway, and now, didn't upgrade at areas they needed to upgrade.
No catcher is objectively crazy.
It's the worst catching unit in the entire league and it's not even close.
I don't care how influential.
you know, Austin Wells is with the pitching staff.
Obviously, that has value, but the value starts to diminish at some point when you are a net negative on offense.
And not adding a bullpen when this is the most taxed bullpen in the league.
I understand it's the, the best bullpen in the league based on ERA, but these guys are not, these guys are gonna be sucking wind in 3 weeks.
And there's no way to fix that, unless you're gonna bring up a bunch of prospects, which at that point, I guess good luck.
I mean , Carlos Legraje is throwing ahead of schedule, so congratulations to him.
We held on to him.
Elma Rodriguez is a bullpen option now, I guess, if we're gonna try to preserve innings, but we've covered this pretty extensively.
The bullpen options down on the farm this year, who we were hoping to count on, like, first of all, Grabel is one of them, but Harrison Cohen is a dude who has struggled tremendously this year, like, that was a guy that we were looking to maybe help us out.
Um, I, I gotta pull up this summer.
That roster, again, and the internal bullpen options you were having really bad.
Montero disappeared.
Uh, he was to be a theoretically getting a veteran presence.
AAA.
Yeah, we've mostly shucked these guys off the roster, and so now, here's what the Yankees have out of the bullpen.
David Bednar, closer, clutch, we love him.
Paul Blackburn, surprising leap forward this year, can cover multiple innings, but are, are we 100% positive?
Brent Hedrick has been running on fumes a little bit in this past couple of outings.
He has done an unbelievable job this year.
Couldn't be prouder of Brent Hedrick, but again, you are trying to Save yourself from any Brent Hedrick regression at this deadline by acquiring another reliever, hopefully a power lefty who can maybe spell him a little bit.
Angel Chevi has been amazing since we've recalled him.
I, I'm so happy for the emergence of Blackburn and Chevi.
It makes it a little bit, uh, it makes it a bit of a less dire need, but That's, those names I just rattled off, plus Fernando Cruz, who has been, you wanna talk about running on fumes.
Fumes are looking at him being like, dude, you need to get help.
The last couple, like, the last week and a half or so, all of the Yankees' losses have been Fernando Cruz's blown games.
He's coming in in extra innings, allowing every inherited runner to score, he enters with a 2-1 lead and wind blowing in at Wrigley Field, and it's basically impossible.
To Homer, and guess what ?
Niko Horner still gets one off him.
He has done, he's done great work this year.
He's pretty much unusable right now, basically unpitchable, so maybe he finds it again, but you needed someone to come in and help get him off his feet for a couple of weeks, maybe get him to the point where he was workable again.
Now he's still in your top 5 because you didn't displace him at all.
And then Tim Hill, who Couldn't love Tim Hill more.
Uh, I don't want him in a playoff game.
Is that needed to be de-emphasized.
Basically a DFA candidate other than the extra innings in Chicago.
Uh, Kirvin Castro is up now, very cool, and Ryan Yarborough still managed to be on this team.
At some point, maybe Clark Schmidt comes back, at some point, maybe Weathers goes to the bullpen or Warren goes to the bullpen.
I didn't like Warren in the bullpen when he tried to close out that Pirates game, but maybe he goes back to the bullpen.
Either way, not even adding one viable reliever.
It is absurd.
It's somehow not as absurd as the catcher thing, but it's patently absurd.
And this is the kind, this is where we're at right now, right?
It deadline, you hear rumors, you hear reports, and you hear things like 24 hours before the deadline, and they fall apart and you go, oh, I didn't really like that.
I'm glad that fell apart.
Uh, I, I heard that the Yankees were, Robert Murray mentioned this in the Baseball Insiders today that the Yankees were interested in Caleb Killian from the Giants, who ultimately went to the Phillies in the Luis Arraz trade, and at that time, I hear that and I go, Oh, I don't really want Caleb Killian, like, that feels like a dude for ERA, you know, a lot of K's, but way too hittable, you know, another reliever they have to unlock, and if the only reliever they'd gotten this deadline was Caleb Killian, I would have come on the show and been like, they didn't do enough, they got another one of their classic Cashman projects, like, I would have said Killian plus one other dude would have been satisfactory.
Jeff Hoffman, for example, not that we're trading with the Blue Jays, but that caliber of dude who moved, um, and so, then you get to the actual deadline, and no, they don't get a high-profile name like Hoffman, and no, they don't even get a Killian , they don't get a single bullpen arm.
It's one of the craziest things I've ever seen, it would have been the craziest thing I've seen in this deadline, if not for the fact that they didn't get a catcher at this deadline.
And we can talk till we're blue in the face.
About the Richman package and the fact that he's a Red Sox now, and all they had to give up to get him, and the medicals and the uncertainty, and uh it is a nuanced issue, and I think, It's hard to plant your flag on, uh, I can't believe we let him go to Boston Island, and it's hard to plant your flag on Ruchman is Cooked Island, and they gave up way too much for him, Island, because there's certainly the chance that this package turns out to be embarrassing for Adley Ruchman, and there's also the chance that the Red Sox win.
The World Series with Adley Ruchman as their starting catcher.
And there's a possibility that both things are true at the same time, and then you'll have to ask Brian Cashman, hey, you let your rival jump in front of you for their eventual starting catcher, they won the World Series, and you are probably happy about that cause you didn't have to give up what they gave up, but again, they have rings now.
So, that's Not that, not a guarantee, not even the most likely outcome, but there's certainly an end of the rainbow, where the Red Sox are celebrating, and they gave up too much, and both are true, but it doesn't matter cause they have rings.
So, we'll, we'll talk about Ruchman.
It didn't have to be Ruchman, I would have preferred it to be Richman, but it could, and Ryan Jeffers off the table, Hunter Goodman didn't get moved, Shay Langliers got hurt.
I hear you, I hear you, I hear you.
Uh, but Tyler Stevenson, imperfect, but A 900 OPS since June, defensively, you know, not far from God tier, but is a strong righty bat, would have fit nicely as a platoon for Austin Wells since we love platoons.
Liam Hicks, another first base DH catcher, lefty, I mean, look, I really like Liam Hicks, the player.
I don't like Liam Hicks for this roster, but he didn't end up costing all that much, and we probably could have rolled the dice there if we hadn't gotten Garcia.
But, uh, even, look, I'm not happy, Yvonne Herrera.
Of the Cardinals, they're in town, so there's a chance you see Ivon Herrera beat up the Yankees this week, and then you can ask yourself, man, it would have been nice to have another sort of DH catcher type, etc.
but, um, Imperfect fits, but you gotta choose an imperfect fit at a certain point if you're Brian Cashman.
Uh, even Joey Bart, they were talking to the Pirates about 1 overall pick bust, Henry Davis.
And that would have been a lose your mind scenario , but, like, Joey Bart, is he gonna push the White Sox?
Is he a difference maker?
Is he the difference in the AL Central?
Probably not, but is he better than Ali Sanchez?
Yeah, I think he is.
Can he take the load off Austin Wells?
Yeah, I think he can.
Brian Cashman said the Yankees believe they have, quote, quality catching, adding that the team has struggled offensively over.
Overall, not just the catchers.
Quote, There was no opportunity that existed for us that we felt good enough about to be able to push through on.
There were very limited opportunities that were available in the marketplace.
You're right, man.
You're right.
That is what it is.
A lot of people did get catchers though, right?
Did, didn't they?
Didn't a lot of teams get catchers today?
So there were some opportunities that other teams pushed through on, but, but you didn't.
Yeah.
And that that's always what it is.
The, the, it's always, uh, the marketplace didn't have to offer what we wanted.
That, that's it every year.
And again, that is why this needs to be Brian Cashman's final deadline.
Yeah.
We look at Tarek Scoble's, uh, trade return from the Dodgers.
And it's clear Scott Harris and the Tigers preferred whatever the Dodgers had.
You can call that a light package, you can call it the Dodgers essentially dealing from spare parts, and I think there is validity to all of that.
But the fact of the matter is, is that the Dodgers put themselves in a position to have that much of a surplus, and to have that much talent to be able to say , oh, we could trade our 3rd or 4th, 4th-best prospect out.
Fielder as the headliner in a school package.
We can trade a 27-year-old starter who has high pedigree based on evaluations and not have it hurt us at all.
We can trade our 3rd-round pick from a year and a half ago, and everything's fine.
So, The Yankees are never in a position like that where they are able to trade, you know, one of their top 5 prospects, or even if they're willing to trade one of their top 5 prospects, um, they opt to not do it because they don't believe the values match up.
And that That's why trades of greater magnitude never get done for them.
Because if you're sitting there looking to get equal value or commensurate value to whatever is being offered to you, the deal is never gonna get done.
Because guess what, both sides are doing that.
Everybody wants to fucking win .
You ever played fantasy baseball before?
Nobody wants to make a trade, cause they're afraid they're gonna lose, or they're afraid they're not getting enough to insure themselves against a possible loss.
And Brian Cashman in this day and age is operating like a fantasy baseball manager.
He's going through the trade machine, he's punching the values, and oh, these values don't add up.
Why would I surrender this?
That's not what it's about.
Do you think the Red Sox trade package?
For Adley Ruchman.
Is Proper value for Adley Ruchman.
It's one of the craziest things I have ever seen in my life, and I would still rather be them than us at that point.
Correct.
And I'm not like necessarily, maybe not in this position, I'm not advising for it because I think you would have needed Adley Ruchman plus.
2 relievers plus.
You know, whatever, uh, you know, in, in my mind, a, a really good shortstop or a really good center fielder, I think that was the way to kind of make this work.
Um, but if you're talking about subtracting from a rival, or if you're talking about believing in the group that you have and adding this one piece.
To put you over the edge, then you shouldn't be blinking at a potential overpay.
The Red Sox surrendered 3 top 5 prospects for Adley Richman.
On the surface, that is not commensurate value.
Adley Richman has 1 more year of control.
He's been a declining player since his 1st 2 years in the league.
He's a good player, but he's not.
He fetched more than Tarek Scoble did, and Tarek Scoble is gonna have more value in 2 months with the Dodgers than arguably Adley Ruchman is going to have these final 2 months and all of next year with the Red Sox.
He's been on the IL 3 times this year.
The wrist medicals are genuinely scary, and I understand that, and the quality of contact is rendered, it's gone from impressive, well over the line and expected Woba to right on the borderline of average player.
That's where he's at right now.
But, but, They saw the catcher position, the Boston Red Sox, they are 28-5 in their last 33 games, and they said, we need a catcher, dude, and we gotta get him now.
And whatever the price is, we're gonna pay it because we think we're World Series contenders.
We think we could take the next step, and this is the guy that's gonna maybe get us there, and if we can buy him a few weeks upon his acquisition, to have him get healthy and be ready for, you know, September and into October, then we have a really good shot at the World Series.
Um, you'll never find me on this Yanks Go Yard podcast, complaining about an overpay for somebody who could either take the roster to the next level, or has a uh particular pedigree to them that insinuates the Yankees are Making a cutthroat move, something of that nature.
Adley Richman would have been a version of that, um, but again, the Yankees needed so much more.
It's just even worse looking at a team like the Red Sox who were dead in the water in mid-June, close to mid-June, managed to go on this run.
We were talking about them selling at the deadline, 456 weeks ago, and now, they just undercut you for a player that you heavily valued.
Also, like, what were all these other rumors then?
Yankees are interested in Luis Arraz, goes to the Phillies, nothing really objectionable there in terms of the package.
Adrian, uh, Adrian Morahone of the Padres, clearly they didn't sell, but like, you didn't.
You didn't want more at home that badly to give up a little bit extra to make your bullpen that much better.
So again, do you believe in the team, or do you just wanna keep making sure there are enough parts year over year.
That continue to keep the roster somewhat relevant.
Oh, we need our cost-effective moves of Helio Elio Ramos, hanging out for the next 3 years, making, you know, 2 million, 2.5 million a year.
That's not, that's not the work of a contending roster.
That's the work of a small-market GM, um, that's the, those are the moves the Brewers made today.
They went out and they got Dustin May, and they got Antonio Senatella, and they got Jojo Romero, and, and that's, that, that's their ability to counter someone like the Dodgers.
That's a bad deadline, but is that a better deadline?
I think it is.
Yeah, it's a better deadline.
It's not great, it's, it's not anything that you would, um, you know, it's not anything you're writing a glowing review about at the end, but they acquired pitching depth, which is arguably the most important thing you need for a postseason run.
If Senatela and or one of Romero and Dustin May get burned out by the end of the year, What did you do?
You at least got yourself to the end of the year, where now a couple of other guys are not gonna be exhausted come playoff time.
Um, so, I, I don't know, I just look at the Yankees situation and I think they're continuing to believe that.
The guys that they have are sufficient, but the AL is weak, and they're gonna end up on top regardless of what happens, and they're not paying attention to the fact that with or without Aaron Judge, the offense is not enough , because it's not a balanced offense.
Yes, it is top 3, top 5, whatever it is, and OPS and home runs and runs scored, but it's not a consistent offense.
It's not an offense that can hit the best pitching in the league.
Consistently, or at least with a semblance of consistency.
And it's not a team that gets the big hit with runners in scoring position or in high leverage situations.
And the Yankees, in order to do that, you have to pay a lot, whether it's in the offseason, money, be it or, or trade, or at the trade deadline with prospect capital to make that happen.
And another year is going by, and the Yankees are going to fish players away from teams that suck.
Yeah, go get jazz from the Marlins.
OK, awesome.
Jazz never played in a meaningful game until he arrived in New York.
Just, I mean, what, he was on the Marlins in what, 2020 when The Marlins fake made the playoffs or whatever it was.
Yeah, he was in the, they played a wild card series in Philadelphia a couple of years ago, I think he played in 2023.
The Marlins, they got destroyed.
Yeah, they got destroyed.
Um, so yeah, I mean, there was never a point where you were like, oh, this guy's a playoff performer, oh, this, yeah, this year that, I mean, and even with the, their consistent dealings are with the Rockies, the Pirates, the Marlins.
These are the teams that they make trades with consistently.
They're trading with last-place irrelevant teams who are down on their luck and, and, and quite frankly, need to get rid of some of these players, or else they are in a situation where they're getting no value.
So, that's, those are the moves the Yankees make.
And again, they have the opportunity, they, they're talking to San Francisco, right?
San Francisco has some guys on that roster that have played in big games.
Luis Arraz has been a very relevant player.
I know he hasn't, he, he, he doesn't have exactly a decorated postseason career, but that's somebody who is, uh, he leads the league in batting average, never strikes out.
That's the exact quality you would need in this lineup.
There's Rafael Devers on that roster.
There's Jung Ho Lee on that roster.
Guys who, uh, you know, Devers has a ton of experience in the postseason, was in the Yankees division.
It's a hard It's a hard thing to ask to acquire what?
He's got $200 million remaining on his contract, I get that, but, I mean, there is, there was no effort to acquire either a missing piece that they had cause Luis Garcia is not a missing piece, Helio Ramos is not a missing piece, and there was no attempt to acquire somebody of a certain stature.
Maybe that would have been a Tarek Scoble deal .
They were uh obviously never getting that done.
But again, Jack Curry and Joel Sherman reported, the Yankees had plenty of conversations with the Tigers about Tarek Scoble.
So, what, what, what was that about?
Why couldn't you beat the Dodgers package?
Were you not motivated to do so?
Because you thought it was surrendering too much and you were just saying, oh, well, guess I'll go to the Dodgers, doesn't matter, and that's the mentality that is setting this franchise back, however long it is.
I'm surprised by basically everything, like, I was ready for a completely different debate and a completely different variety of frustration, like, I thought the Red Sox would get Garcia, and I thought the Red Sox would get Zach Netto, and then I would be sitting here complaining about whether the Yankees getting Ryan Jeffers or Tyler Stevenson was enough to compete with the Red Sox reshaping their infield.
And I thought the Yankees would get a swing and miss bullpen piece, uh, like a controllable dude like Zephyr John.
And then I would have to be talking about, well, does he have enough, you know, playoff innings on his arm, do we trust him?
Is this another Scott Fross, like, I was mentally playing out, being frustrated by things that are miles better than what actually happened to the New York Yankees.
And then the roller coaster of, like, the Red Sox didn't get Garcia, we did.
OK, I actually really like that.
I'm comfortable with that, that's additive.
And obviously, after that happens, we're gonna get a high profile catcher of some kind, and after that, after we traded away Camilo Duvall, we need a reliever here today.
So, obviously, we're gonna get a reliever and maybe we'll get another one, like, we'll get a reliever now and then closer to the deadline, we'll wait out the prices on Zephyjon or Killian or or what have you.
No relievers, and it's just Kervin Castro.
No catcher and Richman goes to the Red Sox.
At least Neto doesn't move, but they still have Franklin, they, they gut their whole farm system, but they gut it to the Orioles, so, like, ha ha, the Red Sox don't have Anthony Ironson or Kyson Witherspoon anymore, oh, but they're still in the AL East.
Cool.
Like, you don't get to laugh at them for doing anything that they did.
Um, if Ruchman's medicals are as bad as Cashman feared they were, then, look, maybe he doesn't come back, and the Red Sox have a horrible history this year, especially with wrist injury.
They got Curtis Meade, and they were like, I don't know if there's a fracture there, it looks clean, actually, it is fractured.
Actually, he's gonna miss 6 to 8 weeks, actually, he might miss the whole season.
Roman Anthony had a finger sprain and he's been on the IL for 3 months.
So, maybe the Red Sox just were willing to roll the dice and saying if we do get Richmond back, think about that, he's a top 5 catcher in the game, even at this point of regression, forget the medicals.
And then you do lose him and it's, it's an all-time, it could be an all-time nightmare.
I can't sit here and tell you that there's a 100% chance it's going to work or not going to work, but there's certainly a world where Richmond just, like, does not participate for the rest of the season.
He's on the IL right now, and then, outside of Franklin Arias, the Red Sox used every chip.
Franklin Arias and Justin Gonzalez, they kept, but Ironson, Witherspoon, uh, their, their number 5 prospect, these are dudes who get top line.
Basically, any trade they wanted to make at this deadline and in the offseason, and instead they were used on Richman and maybe that was right, maybe that was wrong.
They're gonna have to extend Richman, who knows what 2027 looks like.
Uh, also, we did, we forced that Ruchman overpay by registering our interest, by having the conversations we had.
So, Brian Cashman, tip your cap, um, but also don't, because the Boston Red Sox have the player you wanted now.
So, like, yeah, the offer was larger than it could have been because of the legwork you did to drive the player you wanted to the Boston Red Sox.
I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna victory lap that one.
They paid 20% more than we thought they would to get a player that you coveted, and it's hard to pick what the worst Joel Sherman tweet was today.
Between About an hour before the deadline when he said it actually looks like the Yankees might not get a catcher.
They are talking about the Henry Davis thing with the Pirates, though.
That one was really devastating, but I'll also throw out, last night, we all sort of thought Ruchman might be a Yankee.
Elmer Rodriguez was apparently in these conversations, and then this morning, Joel Sherman goes, 2 days ago, I wrote this article about the Orioles listening on Ruchman.
Pretty relevant now.
This is a player the Yankees clearly covet or something like that.
I was like, OK, Hintmeister, thanks for hinting, what's next?
And then about 20 minutes later, he was like, remember, other AL East teams might be pushing for Richmond too, might not just be the Yankees, and I was like, OK, then why did you say the Yankees the first time?
And then, like, 20 more minutes later, it was.
The Boston Red Sox are moving pretty close to a deal for Adley Richmond.
It was like, come, come on.
What, what was the first tweet about?
If the last tweet was just gonna be, yeah, the Yankees covet him, but not as much as the Red Sox do, uh, all-time, I mean, again, 2023, standing pat with all those rentals that you could have gotten rid of on a non-playoff team and then just bringing in Keenan Middleton for a laugh at the end, that's the worst deadline of all time.
There was also a COVID deadline where we thought they were gonna get.
Uh, Archie Bradley from the Diamondbacks or some help, and then they just did absolutely nothing and it was like, OK then, yeah, all right, I mean, those were abominable.
They got two talented players this year and got rid of Camilo Duvall, so, better trade deadline than those two, but in context, similarly horrible, a, a complete incomplete.
Of a trade deadline.
You, you can't grade it any other way.
Redundant edition, platoon edition, and no catcher, no relievers, and actually fewer relievers than you had before the trade deadline is one of the most laughable concoctions of deadline moves I've ever heard of.
I'm reading these quotes right now.
Cashman on Judge, we are current, we currently are still very optimistic that he's going to return, but there's challenges with all that too.
There's a very high likelihood that he fits the time frame to come back and join us.
That's what I'm hoping and holding on to.
So, I think that, I think that's the answer.
I think they just don't, they don't think he's returning.
Um.
I, I, I mean, these are not good responses .
It is August 3rd.
He has not been re-evaluated since getting that imaging again, which was at this point, 2.5, 3 weeks ago.
Um.
I just, this, this is now where I'm at.
I think that they are just, they're completely defeated with this.
And there's, uh , they don't feel like there's an, uh, a worthwhile path forward in 2026 in order to make that happen.
So, if it was going after rental guys, like, maybe they were serious about school and then they saw where the price was going and realized that's not worth it if we're not gonna have Aaron Judge.
Same goes for Ruchman, same goes for Morahone.
Um, that said , it's hard to fully grasp that as the reality when the Yankees trade deadline behavior has, it, it hasn't changed.
It's the same behavior since 2018, essentially.
So, I don't know.
I'm looking through all this now.
Uh, Cashman, again, you mentioned the, the quotes on the catching situation.
They grinded through the catching market and had many conversations, um, but didn't get there because they were unable to meet the prices.
I just, uh, what, what is worth it to you, continuing to trot out players who are unacceptable or overpaying for somebody that is gonna improve your fortunes for a little while , like, I don't know.
Another wrinkle in this that I don't think many people are fully grasping or understanding, but After welcoming Luis Garcia, Junior to the roster, great, exciting, can't wait to have him here.
The Yankees recalled Kirvin Castro to help out in the bullpen because the other bullpen arm on the active roster was Giovanni Cruz, who replaced Camilo Duval after the trade to the Pirates.
And then they optioned Max Schumann.
Now, you might say, well, That doesn't really matter.
Max Schumann really wasn't performing great.
He's batting under 200, um, his numbers have suffered greatly since he got more playing time.
And to that, I would say, you are correct.
But we are missing an important layer of this entire thing, and it's that Max Schumann was acquired in the offseason from the Athletics, and he came over.
As help for the infield.
The Yankees were particularly dealing with detailed these problems.
Third base with Ryan McMahon, didn't know if they were turning him into a platoon option, and shortstop with Anthony Volpe and Jose Caballero, two non- full-time options at shortstop, not good enough to be everyday starters, but good enough to be there.
Max Schumann comes over from the A's with all of his experience, not all, but 90% of experience being on the infield.
Most of his games came at shortstop, the next most came at second base, I think, the next most came at third base.
In 200+ games with the athletics, he appeared in 23 games in the outfield.
In 40 games with the Yankees, he appeared in 33 games in the outfield.
The man is not an outfielder.
The Yankees have had outfield depth all year, up until Cody Bellinger's injury.
Now they don't.
I mean, that, it's, it's enough right now, but they, they, before they had plenty more.
They had Spencer Jones coming up and down, they had recalled Dominguez, he was here after his injury.
Everything that they had the depth.
They kept playing Max Schumann out there who not objectively not very good.
Everybody caught on and said, yeah, this guy is like diving on plays he shouldn't be diving.
And he's misjudging balls on the turf in Toronto, like, why is, why is he in the outfield?
Good question, good observation.
The answer is he should have never been in the outfield, because he's not an outfielder.
So you acquired infield depth help in the, in the offseason, don't use that infield depth help, then you managed to bat the man lead off twice over the last week.
And then you option him to AAA.
In a trade deadline where you don't upgrade the outfield, and you don't upgrade the left side of the infield.
Just confounding to me.
Again, it's, it's roster, it's transaction slash roster mistake after transaction slash roster mistake over and over and over again.
The Yankees did this at the 2024 deadline.
They acquired Eniel delos Santos' bullpen out.
He was gone three weeks later, because it was a terrible fucking acquisition.
And now they're trying to sell us on these offseason acquisitions that are improving the depth and like, they did.
They improved the Yankees' depth.
In a way that seems, it's like the Volpe Caballero thing, right?
It's like, you get Caballero in here and people are like, oh my God, like, we gotta play this guy at shortstop.
He's that much, he , he's so much better than Volpe, and it's like, yeah, he's better than Volpe, but Volpe is not an everyday shortstop.
Yeah, this guy's a good depth piece, but the Yankees never had depth.
They filled their bench with failed prospects and guys who batted 190, and guys who didn't match up in the right situations.
Guys who couldn't play multiple positions.
Now, you finally get that guy, you mismanage him and you misuse him, and then you just throw him to the minor leagues.
And the Yankees are gonna think that rotating Luis Garcia and Elio Ramos in and out here is gonna work, and I, I really hate to tell you, but it's not.
It's gonna barely improve their fortunes.
It's gonna make the offense maybe a little more enjoyable to watch, but it's not gonna change the complexion of how the lineup is constructed.
It's not gonna change how opposing pitchers strategize against the Yankees.
It's just not happening.
So, look back on all of these.
These are all objectionable moves that the Yankees have made and continue to make, while their rivals and, and teams that have um More of a, like, look at the Brewers, for example, like, we're never gonna be the Brewers.
We're not, we're not a small market team, but the Brewers lean into exactly what they need to do.
Their drafting is incredible, their scouting is incredible.
They signed these guys to contract extensions, by the time they hit double and Triple-A, like, and it works for them.
Do the Brewers have World Series success?
No, they don't.
Will they ever?
I don't know.
But they've managed to probably be just as relevant as the Yankees since what, 2018, when they made the NLCS that year too.
Was that the year or was it 20, you know, 2018 , they got to game seven against the Dodgers.
They probably should have made it to the World Series and they didn't before Yelich broke down.
It's a good team, but they've been, they've been just as relevant and as effective as the Yankees sans a World Series appearance over that same span.
So again, and it's like the Yankees' collection of talent and their payroll is what gets them as far as they do, and they don't take advantage of any of it.
So , yeah, I mean, the Brewers NLCS in 2018, playoffs the next year, playoffs the next year , both eliminated in the wild card round, sure, NLDS the next year, um, no playoffs in 2022, eliminated in the wild card round the next two years, NLCS last year, but in between all of this, you have 12345 going on six division titles, the Yankees have two over that same span.
Um, So, I don't, it's just like, what is, again, what is the Yankees' identity?
It's, it's teetering on, we're a big market team, but we're not gonna go too far over that edge cause we don't want to.
And also, we're gonna kind of operate like a small market team, but we're still gonna get circles run around us by the actual small small market teams.
So, that's where I am.
It's just like, there's no identity, there's no rhyme or reason to these moves.
Um, there is Uh, a willingness to admit defeat only to a certain point, and then you're just gonna, oh, I made my bed, I'm gonna lie in it.
We have a, uh, we have a catcher with a 40 OPS plus, so, I guess it is what it is, right?
Um, and that just doesn't, another, one last thing here, the Yankees do not value fan.
Um, I think, uh, investment at all.
So they don't understand truly what an impactful and a momentous, and a roster-changing trade deadline would do to the fan base.
Like how it would reinvigorate everybody and how it would get the support, um, even more, uh, I think like, Aggressive and, and uh inspiring.
They don't, they don't care about that.
They just care about, oh, what's the next move that's gonna allow me to maybe make my next move.
And that's what this is.
So, I'm happy to be proven wrong.
I'm happy to come on the, a podcast in a month from now and say, whoa, these.
Deadline acquisitions were actually monumental and changed the complexion of the Yankees.
I don't think they do though.
So, well, that's, I mean , look, they made the offense a little bit more, uh, you know, impactful, but we may not see the offense.
Cam Schlitler is getting his ass kicked here in the top of the first inning.
Uh , two-run home run by Alec Burleson, back to back walks, saying, he's about to pass 30 pitches, he's recorded 1 out.
So, you know how the trade deadline will sometimes deflate a team, even if, like, you think the team is good enough as currently constructed to make it to the end of the season, but if you don't reward them for the hard work they've done, it may have a negative impact if you don't do enough business just because psychologically, the team is.
Sort of bummed out, feels like he didn't reward them.
The Yankees went 6-4 on a road trip, short-handed through Philly and Chicago, Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, and they blew a 4-0 lead in the seventh inning there.
That was pretty embarrassing.
They could have gone 7 and 3, they could have won that other extra inning game and gone 8 and 2, or even if you just win one of those 7 and 3, but 6 and 4, you'll take it.
They did their job.
We just asked them to tread water till the trade deadline.
Get us to the trade deadline, so we can get a catcher, we can get relievers, we can get reinforcements.
They do exactly that.
They tread water and even do more than tread water to get you to the trade deadline.
And you bring in a redundant DH first base bat, and you bring in a platoon outfielder, and you don't do anything else.
And the New York Yankees look deflated on the field.
Right now, Monday, August 3rd, it's supposed to be the big day of the season, where you load up for the stretch run and you prove that the Rays can be caught and that your run differential matters more than their record, that you can hold off the Red Sox, that you have the GM with experience, you can outfox Craig Breslow.
Well, he outbid you.
The Rays outdid you.
And the players on the field right now look like you deflated them.
So we'll see you later this week, we'll see you on Thursday.
We'll see what the Yankees do for the rest of the series against the Cardinals.
We'll see if Luis Garcia ever bats or if this top of the first inning never ends.
I'm Adam Weiner, but you can find me on Twitter at Adam Weiner, Thomas Carnante, where can the people find you?
I'm at Tommy_takes, also at TCFan site on TikTok.
We are at.
Yanks Go Yard FS Yanks Go Yard Social media.
Don't forget to head on over to Yanksoyard.com.
That's where all the written content is.
We're gonna have plenty of follows here uh after the trade deadline.
Uh, not happy ones.
Just so you know, all these cashman quotes are coming out now.
Um, he commented on the possibility of trading for Scoble.
Um, don't care about any of it, because again, it's not enough, it's not gonna be enough.
They're telling us they're confident that they can compete for a championship.
We are not confident in that.
Um, don't forget to like and subscribe to the YouTube channel.
We'll talk to you later this week, but yeah, Yankees getting pasted right now.
Uh, morale is certainly not high based on after, uh, based on their moves at this year's trade deadline and its history repeating itself.
So, one day somebody will learn, but it will not be today.
Yeah, I wonder if when Adley Ruchman fights in brawls, he leaves his helmet on like Varitek or if he takes it off like a real man.
Anyway, uh, we'll see, we'll learn, cause I think the Yankees and Red Sox are gonna have some fireworks this year in the next couple of years, uh, maybe we'll come out on the right side of those at some point.
I would elect Ivon Herrera or any kind of firebrand behind the plate, instead of Austin Wells and his worrisome numb hand.
And, uh, go Yanks, wanted to do a happier show today, thought today might be the day.
Today was not the day.
Uh, like the new additions to the team, welcome to the club.
Sorry, guys, looking forward to seeing more from you, but looking forward to seeing a new face pulling the strings before next season, before the lockout .
Brian Cashman.
Thanks so much.
We'll take it from here.
Until Thursday, take care.
