The Absent GM

Brian Cashman, the mastermind behind the New York Yankees just finished what could be his last trade deadline as the Yankees General Manager. Many All Star caliber players were available, many of which had been linked to the Yankees. Ubaldo Jimenez, Erik Bedard, Wandy Rodriguez, Hiroki Kuroda and Ricky Nolasco were some of the pitchers  linked to the Yankees. Carlos Beltran, Hunter Pence, Mike Adams, Michael Bourn and Colby Rasmus were other players who were available and eventually dealt.

After all  was said and done roughly 26 trades were completed, none of which  involved the Yankees. While the Yankees biggest competition added a new starting pitcher in Erik Bedard and  utility man in Mike Aviles, the Yankees were just spectators to the deadline deals. It seemed as if Cashman couldn’t work any of  his magic that we had seen before. The picture to the left accurately depicts Cashman this past week, devoid of any excitement. Was he lackadaisical in his duties as General Manager? Is he what we would call a lame duck GM? Despite being losers in this year’s deadline and significantly lowering our chances of another ring, I think Cashman got lucky by running into a string of bad luck. These “unfortunate events” forced the Yankees to do something they rarely do, give their prospects the shot they deserve.

The Rockies were asking for Jesus Montero, Manny Banuelos, Ivan Nova and Dellan Betances for Ubaldo Jimenez, a pitcher with an ERA over 4. This hefty price tag left Cashman hesitant to make any moves or even renew talks with the Rockies for that matter. Eventually the Rockies ended up taking Banuelos out of the deal… this still didn’t make Cashman budge. He did make the right decision here; it seems illogical to trade 4 highly touted prospects for a pitcher who has only mustered one quality season (make that half a season). If you could have traded Jesus Montero for Johan Santana or Cliff Lee a few years ago but didn’t, why would you trade him for someone who hasn’t even come close to their level yet?

Cashman then began to look elsewhere and Hiroki Kuroda on the Los Angeles Dodgers stood out (not to mention the Dodgers needed some $ due to their financial woes). Although 36 years of age, Kuroda is a consistent pitcher when healthy. The owner of an ERA close to 3.0, he would have been an excellent option for the Yankees during the 2nd half of the season. However, Kuroda balked on the idea of leaving his family and friends in California, putting Cashman in yet another bind. Everywhere Cashman looked nothing seemed to work out. The Marlins said they wouldn’t trade Nolasco, the Astros wanted too much for Wandy Rodriguez and so on… This string of bad luck seemed to make Yankees fans feel as if Cashman wasn’t putting his focus on making the team a playoff contender. While this may be true for this season, the Yankees could be set up for years to come.

Jorge Posada has no juice left in his tank so the Yankees will need a replacement catcher next season (The Martin show can only last so long). While they have an abundance of catching prospects (3 of the top 5 ranked catching prospects) they really have no idea which catcher is built for the big leagues. Some suggest Montero, some suggest Romine.  It’s best the Yankees keep both for now until we can figure out who the true star is. Secondly, besides CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes, the Yankees have no long-term pitching solutions. Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon are having remarkable seasons, however, both are creeping up the totem pole in age. AJ Burnett will not and cannot be re-signed by the Yankees… he is a cross between Randy Johnson and Carl Pavano, sometimes good &  sometimes useless. Banuelos, Brackman, Nova and Betances could all be the solution. While ex-Yanks prospects Ian Kennedy, Jeff Karstens, Tyler Clippard and Mark Melancon are finally finding their stride with other MLB squads, the Yanks need to let the new batch of prospects find their stride in pinstripes.

While this trade deadline was deemed a complete and utter failure on the part of Cashman, I suggest sometimes the best move is making no moves at all

While we may have “lost” the trade deadline battle, we have built the team to win the war

The new Yankees Dynasty is upon us

Brian Cashman…. Genius