The New York Yankees had a desperate need at left field but didn't address it at the trade deadline. General manager Brian Cashman's reasoning for not doing so will infuriate Yankees fans.
The New York Yankees trade deadline performance is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Sitting at 55-51 in last place in the AL East and just 3.5 games back of the last Wild Card spot, the Yankees had two paths — buy and address positions of need to make a push for the postseason, or sell to add prospects to the farm system.
Instead, general manager Brian Cashman did neither. With the lone exception of acquiring Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Keynan Middleton, the Yankees did nothing. Perhaps the most egregious is not adding a left fielder.
As the Yankees were playing (and losing) to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night, Cashman fielded questions from reporters about the team's trade deadline. When asked by The Athletic's Chris Kirschner if he regretted not entering the season with a left fielder, Cashman responded by saying that getting one was "the more challenging aspect of it," and cited that he was constrained by the team's budget.
Yankees: Brian Cashman says not adding left fielder was due to budget constraints
In the past, the word "budget" wasn't associated with the Yankees. They spent whatever it took to get the players they needed. As for now, the Yankees are a team that doesn't want to go over the luxury tax. A far cry from the George Steinbrenner days.
This past offseason, the Yankees re-signed outfielder Aaron Judge and first baseman Anthony Rizzo. After the Judge signing, team owner Hal Steinbrenner declared that they are "not done yet." While the team did bring in former San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Carlos Rodon, there was no left fielder brought in. Talks with Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds went nowhere, and. no progress was made on any other external options. Cashman decided to head into the season with Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Cabrera as their left-fielders.
Of course, Hicks' struggles from years prior continued and resulted in him getting benched and eventually released by the team. As for Cabrera, he struggled mightily at the plate and in the outfield, as opposed to his impressive promotion to the majors as a rookie. Cabrera was demoted twice this season.
All in all, the Yankees have had nine players man left field. Nine! Here are those players and how many games they played at the position before the team's Aug. 2 game against the Rays.
- Oswaldo Cabrera: 36 games
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 32 games
- Billy McKinney: 23 games
- Jake Bauers: 22 games
- Aaron Hicks: 19 games
- Greg Allen: 6 games
- Franchy Cordero: 4 games
- Willie Calhoun: 3 games
- Giancarlo Stanton: 1 game
Sure, the options this year weren't necessarily great in terms of outfielders. But bringing in an outside player who can play the position every day was something that needed to be done.
Throughout the season, the Yankees were linked to Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger. But once the Cubs went on a hot streak that propelled them into postseason contention, they pulled Bellinger from the trade block and instead added.
Even on deadline day, the Yankees were linked to St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson. Sure, he doesn't have the batting numbers, but Yankees fans at least expected that would be the move. It wasn't.
Now, the Yankees will continue utilizing a revolving door at left field for at least the remainder of the season. Although, Cashman did mention the possibility of the Yankees calling up their fourth-ranked prospect Everson Pereira when asked about using minor-league depth to address the position. Calling up prospects and giving them a chance would be a popular move for Yankees fans. But the big question is — will they actually make that move?
