NFL
By Billy Lewis
Tuesday’s Major League Baseball Trade Deadline has come and gone. The New York Yankees Trade Deadline can be summed up like their season so far, meh. The Yankees’ offense has sputtered since Aaron Judge was hurt in early June.
Despite Judge returning this past Friday, the offense has been much the same. Entering the deadline the Yankees were 3.5 games back of a Wild Card spot and last place in the AL East. It put Brian Cashman in a peculiar spot, should they buy or sell? In the end, they didn’t do much of anything.
To say they were slow-moving would be an understatement. As the deadline was winding down (officially 6pm EST) the Yankees were the only team that hadn’t made a move by 4.
As of 4pm ET, the Yankees are the only team that hasn’t been involved in a trade at this year’s trade deadline
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) August 1, 2023
Sure, eventually the Yankees wound up making two trades. They acquired Keynan Middleton from the White Sox and Spencer Howard from the Rangers. Middleton should join the bullpen, whereas Howard will be in AAA. The problem with these trades? The Yankees have an abysmal offense, but the best bullpen, so why on earth are the only moves to bolster the best part of the team with a rental player? It truly does not make sense.
Yankees 2023 team ranks…
OPS: 23rd
Batting average: 29th
Starting pitcher ERA: 18th
Reliever ERA: 1stThey added two relievers at the trade deadline and that’s it
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 1, 2023
The new playoff format, with the three division winners as well as three wild card teams, has kept many teams in the race, Yankees included. It also shrinks the sellers’ market for trades. However, the Yankees still only have themselves to blame.
Early in July, it was rumored the Yankees would be interested in Cody Bellinger of the Cubs and Shohei Ohtani of the Angels. Ohtani always felt like a pipe dream because even if the Angels had decided to move on from Ohtani the cost would have been astronomical. If the Cubs decided to be sellers, Bellinger felt like the much more realistic option.
The Yankees had their opportunity to push both the Cubs and Angels toward the seller’s market. The Yankees hosted the Cubs July 7-9 and visited the Angles July 17-19. Had the Yankees won or swept those series, perhaps both teams decide to sell.
Instead, the Cubs won two of three games and the Angels swept the Yankees. Those series helped propel the Cubs and Angels right back into the playoff race.
New York Yankees Need Offensive Rebound
Entering Wednesday’s game against the Rays, the Yankees are 55-52 and still 3.5 games back of the wild card. Currently, the Blue Jays hold the final wild-card spot, trailed by the Red Sox, Angels, and finally the Yankees.
After today’s series finale with Tampa Bay, the Yankees have a huge four-game series against the Astros in the Bronx. Despite the sky is falling feeling in the Bronx, there are still two months for the Yankees to make up ground and wind up back in the playoffs.
If they do makeup ground, they need Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, and DJ LeMahieu to pick up the pace and get back to the players they have been in the past. However, the fear has to be these three players are on a steep decline and this is their new offensive ability.
