Saturday, August 27, 2016

August 31st Trade Deadline Looms, Is Anyone Safe


The August 31st trading deadline will be here in just a few short days and while the Yankees cleaned house before the August 1st trade deadline all signs point to this deadline being a quiet one. That could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it because in one corner Brian Cashman has done some of his best work while lurking in the shadows and none of us heard any rumors about it before it actually happened. On the other hand there just may not be any interest in what the Yankees have left that they are willing to trade.

The Yankees youth movement is in full swing so the potential list of trade candidates seems to be small. The list is headlined by Brian McCann who has seemingly lost his everyday job to Gary Sanchez and who has also cleared revocable waivers already this month. McCann was linked to the Atlanta Braves before the August 1st trade deadline but Atlanta scoffed at the idea of taking on that salary and giving up good prospects in return but with a month of salary now off the books for McCann, a Matt Kemp deal since that showed Atlanta’s willingness to take on salary and the GM in Atlanta’s recent statements about having to “win games in 2017” due to the new stadium I’m sure these talks are still going on. Atlanta’s farm system is deep, it may be the best in all the land, so I expect a deal to be done either by Wednesday or this winter in the offseason. If New York wants it done sooner rather than later simply agree to eat some of the salary, simple as that.

Other players on the potential list include left fielder Brett Gardner (who reportedly received little to no interest in trades before the August 1st trade deadline), Jacoby Ellsbury (who is owed a ton of money and has not lived up to the contract that included a no-trade clause), CC Sabathia (see my comments on the status of Jacoby Ellsbury), Mark Teixeira (also see my comments on Ellsbury and keep in mind that he announced he was going to retire after the season meaning if the Yankees traded him they may have egg on their face when it is all said and done), Chase Headley (surprisingly a movable contract after such a sluggish start to the season), Tyler Clippard and Adam Warren (two veteran relief pitchers and we all know how interchangeable relief pitching can be).


The Yankees have plenty of talent they could move but the problem is they aren’t likely to move any of it before Wednesday. Clippard and Warren fit in with their “win now” mentality for the 2016 season while only the contracts of Chase Headley and Brett Gardner are moveable without the players consent. Headley and Gardner could be replaced from within and both would likely draw interest from teams but if there was that much interest I feel like they would have been moved before the August 1st trade deadline, wouldn’t you? All signs point to this being a slow and quiet trade deadline for the New York Yankees…. Which is just what “Ninja” Brian Cashman wants us to think. 

1 comment:

  1. This headline I like, it sounds very, well I'll let you guys call it....

    "Blend of youth, veterans working for Yankees"!

    Yes, it is a small sample as is Sanchez and his hot bat, but it makes one aware of what can be done with a good combination of Vets and kids.
    Believe it or not, it has worked before, most recently by KC...and in the past with the Yankees.

    ReplyDelete

Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)