Around the Empire: Yankees news - 8/1/17

Around the Empire

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: The trade deadline was yesterday. The Yankees did stuff. The stuff they did was good. Sonny Gray is now a New York Yankee. Jorge Mateo, James Kaprielian, and Dustin Fowler are no longer Yankees. Well, at least until Brian Cashman decides to trade Cito Culver, a box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, and non-magical beans to get them back. Some of you might be thinking “That’s just silly!” IS IT? Brian Cashman just got a quality, cost-controlled starting pitcher without having to give up his topiest of top prospects to do it. How? I’ll be sure to ask him after he’s done repelling down the side of a volcano whilst dropping a sick beat and slaying a seven-headed robotic dragon. Stay tuned.

Fangraphs | Jeff Sullivan: Sonny Gray was Cashman’s final puzzle piece. He had solidified the bullpen with the trade for David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle. All that was left was to acquire a starter to help bolster the rotation. Cashman got Sonny Gray and the Yankees are pretty much set for their run at the AL East division title. The return the Athletics got back was a very high-risk high-reward package. Two players will be recovering from injuries and one player is currently hot in Double-A Trenton, but has had issues before. Overall, the Yankees are going for it. Yay.

Newsday | David Lennon: The Yankees are back in business. That business is winning and winning now. From giving up farm depth for a quality starter to blocking the Red Sox from getting one of their trade deadline targets, this seems a bit more like the Yankees of old. It’s not that the 2016 Yankees didn’t make the right decision in trading their best assets to restock their farm system. It’s just that this feels more normal. It feels like the Yankees may be acquiring their Evil Empire status back.

New York Daily News | Mike Mazzeo: With the Yankees bringing Sonny Gray and Jaime Garcia into the pinstriped fold, some questions about the rotation arise. Joe Girardi has no plans to go with a six-man rotation. Luis Severino, CC Sabathia, and Masahiro Tanaka are not going anywhere. That leaves rookie Jordan Montgomery as the odd-man out. While he certainly does not deserve to lose his rotation spot, there are still options for the young starter. We shall see.

New York Post | Dan Martin: It sucks that Dustin Fowler never got a chance to show what he could do on the major league roster. Stupid Guaranteed Rate Field electrical boxes. Fowler was surprised by the trade announcement. Clint Frazier, who we got from Cleveland in the Andrew Miller trade last year, recalls how he felt during the deadline last year. Frazier is happy that he didn’t have to go through that again this year. He’s happy on the Yankees. We’re happy he’s on the Yankees as well.

Ken Rosenthal’s Facebook | Ken Rosenthal: It still saddens and upset me to type that link title out. Anyway, the always fantastic Ken Rosenthal wrote up a pretty glorious recap post of the trade deadline. After his harsh critique of the Astros and Orioles organizations, Rosenthal goes into why the Yankees and A’s took so long to make the trade for Gray happen. It was pretty much just a standoff between Cashman and Beane. You should give this a look.

Didi Victory Tweet

Oh right. The Yankees won yesterday as well. Yay!