Brian Cashman still hasn’t found what he’s looking for.
The Yankees’ general manager told WFAN’s “Boomer and Gio” on Sunday that recurrent hitches in negotiations with other clubs have prevented them from striking a deal for starting pitching before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline.
“We certainly have been engaged for a long time, but we still are where we are because we just have not found the match that we’re comfortable with,” Cashman said. “Not that we don’t like players that we want to import to take us to another level, but so far we haven’t matched up because the demands just exceed what our comfort level is, and we’re still trying to find the right circumstance.
“And that doesn’t mean we’re not going to step up or we’re not willing to step. But again, we’re not going to overpay.”
It’s no secret that the Yankees (63-34), which are currently five games back of the Red Sox for first place in the AL East standings, need to acquire rotation help. And if possible, Cashman hopes he’s offered a deal that keeps the team under the $197 million luxury tax threshold. At the moment, the Yankees are in a favorable position to fulfill that goal.
But this summer’s pitching market lacks a frontline starter, and the top available names — Blue Jays’ J.A. Happ, Rangers’ Cole Hamels, and Tigers’ Michael Fulmer spring to mind — have either pitched poorly or suffered injuries in the past month.
This reality presents some challenges, even though Cashman is capable of thinking outside the box if the situation calls for it.
“It’s not the best starting pitching market currently that exists,” Cashman said. “This particular trade cycle isn’t robust. A lot of the trade starting pitching pieces, the closer you get to the deadline, the worse they’ve been pitching. Those innings are vitally important… So, if you can get starting pitching that’s obviously high end, that’s a plus, but there’s not a lot of that walking around. The alternative is to get starting pitching that can give you a chance to win and get you deep enough into a ballgame.”
According to Cashman, one of the reasons why the Yankees have yet to reach an agreement is largely because of teams’ differing opinions and evaluations of New York’s prospects.
“There is a little bit of a penalty. We’re a little bit deeper than most [teams],” Cashman told WFAN. “So if we’re talking about players in our Top-10, they might be players in somebody’s Top-Five at the back of our Top-10. But sometimes teams might get wrapped up with ‘you’re taking too many guys out,’ but we have a much deeper crew. So, I wonder sometimes if it’s clubs looking at, ‘That’s your 12th-best.’ But our 12th-best might be third-best in somebody else’s franchise, but they’re saying, ‘You’re not stepping up, and you’re unwilling to put this in.'”
Aside from the Dodgers adding infield slugger Manny Machado and the Indians acquiring left-handed reliever Brad Hand in the past week, the trade market has been relatively dormant.
But Cashman understands that pressure can intensify as the deadline inches closer. And if the pitching landscape changes on the fly, he’ll still be prepared to pounce.
“There’s always players that were available that are no longer available or that aren’t available that might become available,” he said. “Clearly there are some teams treading water, hoping that their second half goes better than their first half did. If they don’t do well, they might fall onto the other side of the mountain, and [in] the last 72 hours [before the deadline], pivot and decide to sell off some stuff. So, we have to be prepared for that.”
If you want to connect with Tom Hanslin, email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @tomhanslin.
