Having come sputtering out of the All-Star break, selling before the Aug. 1 trade deadline now looks like an inevitability for the 44-46 Yankees, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Bombers, who are 9.5 games back of AL East-leading Baltimore and 5.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, will not undergo a full rebuild, reports Rosenthal. However, he notes that general manager Brian Cashman will have a chance to control this year’s trade market when he starts dealing veterans.
New York has a vast array of potential deadline movers, including superstar relievers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller, right fielder and designated hitter Carlos Beltran, and starters CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda and Nathan Eovaldi. Of those six, only Chapman and Beltran are on expiring contracts.
Catcher Brian McCann and left fielder Brett Gardner, two other prominent Yankees veterans, make up the team’s primary leadership core and might not go anywhere as a result, per Rosenthal. McCann has a no-trade clause to boot, so he’d have the power to block any deal.
Chapman, whom the Yankees acquired from the Reds over the winter for an underwhelming package of prospects, will bring back a more valuable return if traded in the next two weeks. When the Yankees picked up Chapman from Cincinnati, he was facing troubling domestic violence allegations. That enabled the Yanks to buy low on him, but the 28-year-old served a suspension at the beginning of the season and has been his usual self on the mound since. As a pending free agent, the Yankees could trade Chapman and then try to re-sign him in the offseason, as Rosenthal notes.
Miller, who’s under team control through 2018 at $9MM per year, has been even better than Chapman. His excellent production and reasonable salary will make it tough for the Yankees to part with him.
As Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Saturday, the Pirates and Yankees have discussed a Eovaldi trade. But Pineda and Sabathia are also garnering interest out of the Yankees’ rotation. Convincing Cashman to give up Eovaldi won’t be easy, according to Rosenthal, as he’s controllable through next season. The Yankees still believe in the hard-throwing 26-year-old despite his 5.54 ERA in 91 innings as a starter this season.
As a struggling right-hander with a year of team control left, Pineda shares similarities with Eovaldi. While the 27-year-old’s ERA sits at a whopping 5.56 through 100 1/3 frames, he’s eighth among starters in K-BB percentage (21.1) and has generated ground balls at a decent clip (44.2 percent).
Sabathia has done a much better job preventing runs than Eovaldi and Pineda, having logged a respectable 3.94 ERA in 93 2/3 innings, but moving him could be difficult. For one, the 35-year-old can veto any trade because of his 10-and-5 rights. He’s also on a $25MM salary this year and has a $25MM option for 2017 that – barring a shoulder injury – will vest, and his ERA has climbed 1.74 runs since June 16.
Even if Cashman can swing a deal for Sabathia, he might instead elect to hold the southpaw and his other two scuffling starters until the offseason. The pitching market will also be weak then, and keeping the three would give them a chance to rebound and improve their respective values, writes Rosenthal.
Considering they’re likelier to buy than sell, the Yankees are entering the deadline in unfamiliar territory. New York hasn’t been in this position since Cashman took the helm in 1998 (or in the few preceding years), and although the club hasn’t been a championship contender in recent years, the executive has earned the respect of his peers.
“I actually think Cash has done a terrific job of getting younger and staying competitive,” one GM told Rosenthal.
The Cubs are waiting patiently for chapman.
Almost ready for the bidding war to start.
Chapman over Miller??
Without question. Miller is fantastic, but the added years of team control will probably push his price tag to an uncomfortable level. And the thing is, given the volatile nature of relief pitchers, I’d prefer short-term solutions anyway.
A deal involving Candalario, Vogelbach, and Adam Warren could probably land Chapman AND Beltran for the Cubs., which would not only shore up the back-end of the pen, but it would also provide some stability in LF for the remainder of the year.
There is no way the Cubs get Beltran. He’s 10 years older than their oldest player (sarcasm on), unneeded and unwanted. We can do that trade without NY including Beltran.
Stop including Warren in deals. He’s not going anywhere
Milller is only traded for Baez or Schwarber., I say about a 50% chance. Chapman might get Happ and Almora., or to the Nats for Lopez and Difo.
Here’s my Yankee deals:
Chapman to Dodgers for Holmes and Bellinger , or to Cubs for Happ and Almora
Beltran to Cleveland for Clevenger
Gardner to the Giants for Phil Bickford
McCann to Astros for Bergman
Eovaldi to Pirates for Kuhl
Keep waiting
I don’t want to see another Yankee post until something heats up.
Yeah I’m getting tired of the Andrew Miller rumors. I don’t think the yanks will trade him.
It is gonna be a long slow week I feel, then it will all blow up.
There should be no stigma of shame, remorse or regret (enter your preferred term) in tearing down and rebuilding (reloading; again, your choice) for the future. There’s a nice mix of assets NY can deal and receive helpful pieces going forward. If Brian Cashman is offered viable players (or pitching) for the likes of Miller, Chapman and Beltran, then by all means, deal. Even if there’s payroll absorption involved in dealing Tex, Sabathia and or Ellsbury, then deal.
As an unhappy fan I’d have no qualms n seeing any of the aforementioned players dealt. The only players to really hold on to are Betances and Eovaldi. Then again, if it’s an offer that’s so good, deal them, too.
It’s time NY got back to contending every year. That’s only going to happen sooner rather than later by starting to deal – now.
Didn’t they say that the pirates were looking at Eovaldi? If they got Eovaldi , Serage can work his magic on him
Agreed drum – NYY needs to rebuild and get younger to compete down the road. Ownership is blinded by the $$ and Fox deal to see the light. Trading their assets will move the turnaround forward so they can set their eyes on the 2018 free agents. Cespedes most likely will opt out after this year as well so who know if NYY ownership will seek to sign him.
I disagree , as an angels fan I hope we get cespedes if he opts out. Add him to the middle of the line up with trout and pujols. Calhoun and Escobar at the top.
Well said, indeed YF63.
I don’t even know if it would take a rebuild, just shave off some bad contracts and let the kids come up. Rebuilds are more for poor rosters ( not getting playoffs consistently) and no farm, see Braves.
Well said
Well said. But let’s dig a bit deeper. Does wearing pinstripes mean today what it meant 50 years ago? The answer is no. Wearing pinstripes has long meant two things: 1) Winning. 2) Being paid.
To the first, the Yankees offer no reasonable expectations of winning with this current group. They’re old, past their prime, and mediocre at best. The farm system doesn’t offer a ton of promise down the line either. Are there some good prospects? Sure. But this system isn’t nearly on pace with what’s happening in Boston, Chicago, Texas or even Philadelphia and Atlanta.
Would nabbing 3-4 of those prized free agents in 2018 change that outlook? Yes. But that’s an incredibly tall order. Maybe 20 years ago, the Yankees could’ve pulled that off, but this brings me to number 2…
Money. The Yankees played on an uneven playing field during George Steinbrenner’s time. The MSG deal parlayed into the YES Network, and it created a situation where the Yankees not only had the most money in baseball, but one where they had more money than the next 5 most profitable franchises combined.
That’s no longer the case. Most major markets are printing cash at a similar pace to the Yankees. Some, the Dodgers, actually have more. It’s no longer reasonable to think the Yankees could outbid EVERY team for EVERY free agent anymore. There’s just too much competition now.
So with money no longer the advantage it once was, the Yankees need to get younger, if only to put themselves in a situation where Harper, Machado, Fernandez, or any of the other stars of 2018 free agency look at the organization and say they can win in New York even if a handful of other stars don’t sign there as well.
I don’t agree. I believe the Steinbrenner boys lack the passion that their father had. I think they see the Yankees as just a business. Almost like CBS did in the early seventies. I think in time the team will sell. You will see The Yankees return to building and buying championships.
Don’t mistake bombast for passion. Hank has a lot of bombast, which is why you don’t see him much, they’ve toned him down.
justinept is very right. A lot of teams are signing their players, not letting them get away. If this happened 10-15 years ago, then the royals may have won with Beltran, Damon, and Dye (and a host of others) still on the team. The Yankees never bought a championship from 1996 to 2009. They spent to maintain their edge that they built with stellar young players. The problem was not being able to replace them in the draft because, as perennial winners, they never drafted very high.
Would love to see NYY get Happ from the Cubs in a package for Miller
That’s a tall order. Miller certainly helps the Cubs. But giving up a prized prospect for a relief pitcher – even one as good as Miller – is tough for any organization. The position is just too volatile, and if Miller regresses over the next two years (relievers often do), the deal could be a disaster for the Cubs.
Of course, if the Yankees trade Chapman to the Giants, then this could change. The Cubs might be a bit more desperate if their biggest hurdle to the World Series improves in that manner.
By all means, use a two game sample as the reason to blow it all up. I don’t believe two games is long enough to qualify as a “sputter”.
Two games? Really? Have you followed the Yankees this year?
They been done for a month that .500 mediocre at best time to sell, trade bring some new players in asap.
That isn’t what he was saying. Had the Yankees won the last two games, would it mean they should buy instead of sell? 2 games don’t mean anything. They should sell, regardless if they “sputtered” the last two games.
I mean, it kinda is a sputter given how the first half of the season went. They needed really badly to come out of the break strong, especially against a division opponent.
You’re right about two games not being much on their own, but which players (given their age and skillset) do you see improving dramatically in the second half? Pineda, maybe, given his solid peripheral stats? Not too many other guys.
The Jays, Red Sox and Orioles all look like very significantly stronger teams – if the Yankees can get something good for rentals like Beltran and Chapman, it’s go time.
Furthermore, when in the Steinbrenner era of ownership has something such as money put itself in the way of acquiring good players?
If George Steinbrenner (whose past transgressions were many and decision sometimes questionable) were alive I’d bet my Don Mattingly autograph collection he’d be spitting fire. Oh, too much for Yoan Moncada? Kid is probably going to be one of the best players out of Cuba ever. That decision really put me off.
Not even a bid for Price or Lester? Prominent lefties in a lefty friendly home park? Please.
I understand attendance and TV ratings are down and the “printing press” is broken, but the cogs to each of those being successful is the on-field product. Fix that and the rest takes care of itself. Oh, by the way, make it more affordable for the blue collar/middle class to see a game or two a season and perhaps there will be less empty seats.
I’m ranting and I apologize. But, I haven’t been more frustrated with this team since the late 1980s. Is it that bad? No, but it sure feels like it.
Hal just wants his account full, George wanted the trophy case full.
Gogerty you hit the nail on the head. Hal only cares about $$$$$
I am a Jays fan but it looks like they are waiting for the big money contracts to expire and go for the 2018 free agent market. What I also seen is they are trying to be under the luxury cap as they are tired of certain markets getting the revenue and not using it towards salaries
The Yankees signing guys on the wrong side of 30 to long-term deals is exactly what has gone wrong to bring the franchise to this point. They need rebuild their core and sign the missing pieces in free-agency. They built it up with the Core 4 back in the day. No need to sign a Lester or Price long-term, when they aren’t an ace pitcher away from being a WS contender.
Cashman has done anything but a good job. Let’s look at his unnecessary trades that he has made. First he trades and makes a good deal getting Martin Prado who can play third and second. It was a good move, however the next move turns into a few moves which is to trade Prado and eat most of his salary which is a slap in the face. Prado is tearing it up in Miami. Along with Prado he ships Phelps who also is doing a nice job.
He gets back Eovaldi and a scrub who is no longer here. Eovaldi was successful last year due to high run support. He didn’t get that this year and you see what he really is which is a 4/5 starter that throws hard and straight.
We then need a second baseman because he traded Prado away so he now trades one of our most reliable pitchers in Warren for Castro who has done a decent job, not great but decent. Why trade for him when you have Refsnyder who is a better hitter than Castro and about the same in defense.
So let’s recap here we could have had Prado at third, Refsyder at 2nd, Warren starting instead of most of our pitchers and Phelps in the pen/ long relief instead of Castro and Eovaldi. Let me think about that for a second…no need to. He made unncessary trades.
Now let’s look at the clowns in the upper management team…Levine just STFU, you have no clue, shit just spews out of your mouth like Lon Trost. Hal you treat your 3.4 billion dollar franchise like a happy meal. Only team not to spend on a FA over the winter. Teams like the Rockie’s and Braves and Astro’s and Dodgers are buying people out of contracts, yet we sit still and keep the crap on the team.
Eat Tex’s contract already, Eat Arod’s contract already. You aren’t getting anything in return from them. Bring up the kids because we aren’t going anywhere anyhow. No one on the roster should be untouchable.
Trade Gardner, McCann, Beltran and Chapman, DFA Tex and Arod and let the rebuilding begin already. He isn’t going to spend money next year so get a jump on it. Hal only cares about the money and that is the sheer problem with him as the General Partner. He sold 80% of the YES network so what does that tell you??? It’s all about the maximum money he can pocket, not about putting the best product out on the field.
Great job on outlining the sequence of trades. Hadn’t thought about it that way and it is a really bad job by Cashman indeed.
However, I don’t think they should be eating Tex’s contract. Who would play first base the rest of the season? His contract expires at the end of the season anyway. I hear A-rod is doing a decent job off the field and albeit he is not worth the money he is owed right now, they can just keep him around until they have a better player to take his spot.
All in all, the Yankees are one of the teams stuck between rebuilding and competing. They have big-money players who will decline with age and not that many top prospects, although Judge, Bird and Sanchez are promising. However, it isn’t as bad as the situation the Angels’ are in right now…
This seems a little bit unfair. Adam Warren has an ERA over 5 in the NL right now. Cant fault Cashman for that trade. It sounds like Cashman has been disagreeing with ownership for years about rebuilding and as a result their stuck in purgatory. They need to sell and start over, but are blinded by Yankee pride.
In fairness , Eovaldi had a great second half last year and started off decent this year. And it’s not like Adam Warren thus far has been great for the Cubs. You also left out the DiDi trade. He’s been arguably the Yankees 2’d best position player to Beltran this year. They gave up Shane Greene who has done awful.
I don’t think they won the Eovaldi trade. But you can’t say they lost the Castro trade. And they certainly won the DiDi one.
Finally a post that makes some sense. The Steinbrenners are actually destroying this franchise now. Also please , I’m begging some one…Anyone who’s listening. Fire Brian Cashman.
Yanks are in a good position going into the trade deadline. We have two top notch relievers on the market and a bunch of playoff bound teams that covet them. Play teams against each other and have them overpay for both Miller and Chapman. And then get whatever you can get for Beltran.
The best thing to do at this point has gotta be to at least begin a rebuild. I’m not saying the right move is to totally overhaul the roster and dump all the veterans in deals for decent prospects, but I definitely don’t think they should keep Chapman if he’s just going to walk in the offseason and join a contender with a 9th inning closer vacancy. I think keeping Miller is the right move because of his club control and production. As for Beltran, I think that should become a bidding war because the Yankees just don’t need to hold him and then watch him walk away in the open market when free agency opens with no return coming back.
2017 Yankee line-up
1 Ellisbury
2 Turner
3 Encarnarcion
5. Desmond
6. Castro
7 DiDi
8 Bird
9 Judge
1 Tanaka
2 Pineda
3. Severino
4. Clevenger
5. Kuhl
Resign Chapman
Miller
Betances
Who is Turner? Are you referring to Trea Turner? How are the Yankees getting him, and assuming you have him playing 3B?
Also you skipped a 4th hitter and catcher. Assuming that’s Gary Sanchez?
The time is now for the Yanks to trade with Cleveland. They have Beltrand and McCann that the Indians need now that Gomes got hurt. They can get Bauer, Clevenger, Aiken, and another prospect for them
It’s a shame to get rid of all the good players when the big hole in the middle of the lineup is the problem.
Getting rid of the best bullpen in the game and trading a bunch of young starters because you insist on keeping Tex and Arod in the middle of the order seems really stupid to me.
They need to cut Tex and Arod and Promote Austin and Sanchez.
Tex when healthy is a fine defensive first basemen. Ironically he’s also a productive , middle of the order bat…. When healthy.
The Yankees can’t and won’t cut arod because of the home run chase.
Why keep Tex because playing with an injury is just going to make it worse either he is forced to surgery or they release him because he will end up being a waste of space in the lineup