NFL
By Billy Lewis:
The 2022 Trade Deadline has come and gone and the New York Yankees were active in the trade market. Jumping out to a huge division lead the Yankees were looking to bolster their team for October.
Heading into the deadline it appeared the Yankees’ biggest needs were outfield help, bullpen arms, and starting rotation help. Brian Cashman got started early trading for Andrew Benintendi with the Kansas City Royals on July 27. Benintendi right away filled the Yankees’ outfield need.
Joey Gallo was last season’s big trade deadline splash (along with Anthony Rizzo) but just simply never got it going in New York. Gallo’s ineptitude forced Cashman’s hand to make a move for Benintendi. Gallo was brought in as a true three-outcome player: home run, strikeout, or walk. Unfortunately for Gallo and the Yankees, the most prominent outcome he saw in pinstripes was the strikeout.
The acquisition of Benintendi put the writing on the wall for Gallo. Sure enough, as the deadline was winding down, Gallo was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league pitcher Clayton Beeter.
New York Yankees Bolster Roster for Playoff Push
As the calendar turned to August, Cashman and company started to get busy. The focus shifted to arms acquiring Scott Effross from the Chicago Cubs to strengthen the bullpen. The biggest move the Yankees made was a trade with the Oakland Athletics. The A’s have been miserable all season sitting at 39-66.
The Yankees pounced on the A’s rebuild and traded for starter Frankie Montas and reliever Lou Trivino. In return, the Yankees sent back JP Sears, and prospects, Luis Medina and Cooper Bowman.
Impressively the Yankees were able to acquire Montas, who was a highly sought-after player, without giving up some of their big-name prospects such as Anthony Volpe, Oswald Peraza, or Jasson Dominguez.
Starting pitching depth is always important in baseball, especially in the dog days of July and August. If the Yankees’ final deal was with Oakland and LA their trade deadline would appear to be a tremendous success. However, they were not yet done.
The most puzzling move the Yankees made was trading Jordan Montgomery to the St.Louis Cardinals for center fielder Harrison Bader. Montgomery had been a consistent starter since the Yankees called him up in 2017. Despite struggling recently, Montgomery still has a 3.69 ERA this season.
Bader is one of the best defensive centerfielders in baseball, but he is on the Injured List and is not expected back until September. The Yankees’ success in the regular season has had fans itching for October. Defense and pitching are at a premium in October, so hopefully, Bader will be able to make an impact when it matters most.
All in all the Yankees appeared to have had a good deadline. The Yankees have a series with the Cardinals this weekend, so we may have a chance to see Montas and Montgomery make their team debuts against each other.
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