Every Significant Brian Cashman Trade

With the July 31^st trade deadline looming it only seems fitting for the blog to cover Brian Cashman and his resume in the trade market. I will tell you that Cashman has made some clunkers when it comes to trades but he has also come out on the right side of things more times than many would like to admit or imagine as well. With that in mind let’s look at every, in my opinion anyway, significant trade that Cashman has made since taking over as the team’s GM in 1998 and determine if we should be worried or excited as fans about this season’s July 31^st trade deadline. Remember, history is always an indicator of the future.

February 6, 1998 traded Cristian Guzman, Eric Milton, Brian Buchanan and Danny Mota to the Minnesota Twins for Chuck Knoblauch

February 1, 1999 traded Mike Lowell to the Florida Marlins for Ed Yarnall, Todd Noel and Mark J. Johnson

February 18, 1999 traded Homer Bush, David Wells and Graeme Lloyd to the Toronto Blue Jays for Roger Clemens

December 22, 1999 traded Hideki Irabu to the Montreal Expos for Ted Lilly, Jake Westbrook and Christian Parker

June 29, 2000 traded Ricky Ledee, Jake Westbrook and Zach Day to the Cleveland Indians for David Justice

July 12, 2000 traded Ed Yarnall, Drew Henson, Jackson Melian and Brian Reith to the Cincinnati Reds for Denny Neagle and Mike Frank

March 21, 2001 traded Wily Mo Pena to the Cincinnati Reds for Drew Henson and Michael Coleman

December 7, 2001 traded David Justice to the New York Mets for Robin Ventura

July 1, 2002 traded Scott Wiggins to the Toronto Blue Jays for Raul Mondesi

July 5, 2002 in a 3 team trade sent Ted Lilly, Jason Arnold and John-Ford Griffin to the Oakland Athletics for Jeff Weaver from the Detroit Tigers

June 6, 2003 traded Marcus Thames to the Detroit Tigers for Ruben Sierra

July 16, 2003 traded Jason Anderson, Ryan Bicondoa and Anderson Garcia to the New York Mets for Armando Benitez

July 29, 2003 traded Raul Mondesi to the Arizona Diamondbacks for David Dellucci, Bret Prinz and Jon-Mark Sprowl

July 31, 2003 traded Brandon Claussen and Charlie Manning to the Cincinnati Reds for Aaron Boone

July 31, 2003 traded Robin Ventura to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Scott Proctor and Bubba Crosby

August 6, 2003 traded Armando Benitez to the Seattle Mariners for Jeff Nelson

December 13, 2003 traded Jeff Weaver, Yhency Brazoban and Brandon Weeden to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Kevin Brown

December 16, 2003 traded Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera and Randy Choate to the Montreal Expos for Javier Vazquez

February 16, 2004 traded Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias to the Texas Rangers for Alex Rodriguez

May 15, 2004 traded Brian Myrow to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tanyon Sturtze

December 3, 2004 traded Kenny Lofton to the Philadelphia Phillies for Felix Rodriguez

December 3, 2004 traded Felix Heredia to the New York Mets for Mike Stanton

January 11, 2005 traded Javier Vazquez, Brad Halsey and Dioner Navarro to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Randy Johnson

March 29, 2005 traded Bret Prinz to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Wil Nieves

July 2, 2005 traded Paul Quantrill to the San Diego Padres for Darrell May and Tim Redding

July 28, 2005 traded Ramon Ramirez and Eduardo Sierra to the Colorado Rockies for Shawn Chacon

August 27, 2005 traded Justin Berg to the Chicago Cubs for Matt Lawton

November 16, 2005 traded Ben Julianel to the Florida Marlins for Ron Villone

December 8, 2005 traded Tony Womack to the Cincinnati Reds for Benjamin Himes and Kevin Howard

July 26, 2006 traded Hector Made to the Philadelphia Phillies for Sal Fasano

July 30, 2006 traded Matt Smith, C.J. Henry, Jesus Sanchez and Carlos Monasterios to the Philadelphia Phillies for Bobby Abreu

July 31, 2006 traded Shawn Chacon to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Craig Wilson

November 12, 2006 traded Jaret Wright to the Baltimore Orioles for Chris Britton

January 9, 2007 traded Randy Johnson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Luis Vizcaino, Steven Jackson, Ross Ohlendorf and Alberto Gonzalez

July 21, 2007 traded Jeff Kennard to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Jose Molina

July 31, 2007 traded Scott Proctor to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Wilson Betemit

November 10, 2007 traded Gary Sheffield to the Detroit Tigers for Humberto Sanchez, Anthony Claggett and Kevin Whelan

December 4, 2007 traded Tyler Clippard to the Washington Nationals for Jonathan Albaladejo

July 26, 2008 traded Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen, Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Tabata to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady

July 30, 2008 traded Kyle Farnsworth to the Detroit Tigers for Ivan Rodriguez

July 30, 2008 traded LaTroy Hawkins to the Houston Astros for Matt Cusick

July 31, 2008 traded Alberto Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals for Jhonny Nunez

November 13, 2008 traded Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez to the Chicago White Sox for Nick Swisher and Kanekoa Texeira

February 4, 2009 traded Chase Wright to the Milwaukee Brewers for Eric Fryer

May 16, 2009 traded Eric Hacker to PIT N for Romulo Sanchez

June 30, 2009 traded Casey Erickson and Eric Fryer to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Eric Hinske

July 31, 2009 traded Chase Weems to the Cincinnati Reds for Jerry Hairston

December 7, 2009 traded Brian Bruney to the Washington Nationals for Jamie Hoffmann

December 8, 2009 traded Phil Coke, Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy to the Detroit Tigers for Curtis Granderson

December 22, 2009 traded Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino to the Atlanta Braves for Boone Logan and Javier Vazquez

January 26, 2010 traded Mitch Hilligoss to the Texas Rangers for Greg Golson

July 30, 2010 traded Zach McAllister to the Cleveland Indians for Austin Kearns

July 31, 2010 traded Mark Melancon and Jimmy Paredes to the Houston Astros for Lance Berkman

July 31, 2010 traded Matt Cusick and Andrew Shive to the Cleveland Indians for Kerry Wood

November 18, 2010 traded Juan Miranda to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Scott Allen

March 25, 2011 traded Sergio Mitre to the Milwaukee Brewers for Chris Dickerson

January 23, 2012 traded Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi to the Seattle Mariners for Vicente Campos and Michael Pineda

February 19, 2012 traded A.J. Burnett to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Exicardo Cayones and Diego Moreno

April 4, 2012 traded George Kontos to the San Francisco Giants for Chris Stewart

July 23, 2012 traded Danny Farquhar and D.J. Mitchell to the Seattle Mariners for Ichiro Suzuki

July 31, 2012 traded Chad Qualls to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Casey McGehee

March 26, 2013 traded Exicardo Cayones and Kramer Sneed to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Vernon Wells

July 26, 2013 traded Corey Black to the Chicago Cubs for Alfonso Soriano

July 6, 2014 traded Vidal Nuno to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Brandon McCarthy

July 22, 2014 traded Rafael De Paula and Yangervis Solarte to the San Diego Padres for Chase Headley

July 31, 2014 traded Kelly Johnson to the Boston Red Sox for Stephen Drew

July 31, 2014 traded Peter O'Brien to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Martin Prado

November 12, 2014 traded Francisco Cervelli to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Justin Wilson

December 5, 2014 traded Shane Greene to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Didi Gregorius

December 19, 2014 traded Martin Prado and David Phelps to the Miami Marlins for Nate Eovaldi, Domingo German and Garrett Jones

December 29, 2014 traded Shawn Kelley to the San Diego Padres for Johnny Barbato

January 1, 2015 traded Manny Banuelos to the Atlanta Braves for David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve

June 11, 2015 traded David Carpenter to the Washington Nationals for Tony Renda

November 11, 2015 traded John Ryan Murphy to the Minnesota Twins for Aaron Hicks

December 8, 2015 traded Brendan Ryan and Adam Warren to the Chicago Cubs for Starlin Castro

December 9, 2015 traded Justin Wilson to the Detroit Tigers for Luis Cessa and Chad Green

December 28, 2015 traded Caleb Cotham, Rookie Davis, Eric Jagielo and Tony Renda to the Cincinnati Reds for Aroldis Chapman

January 12, 2016 traded Rob Segedin to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tyler Olson and Ronald Torreyes

July 25, 2016 traded Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for Rashad Crawford, Billy McKinney, Gleyber Torres and Adam Warren

July 31, 2016 traded Andrew Miller to the Cleveland Indians for J.P. Feyereisen, Clint Frazier, Ben Heller and Justus Sheffield

July 31, 2016 traded Vicente Campos to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Tyler Clippard

August 1, 2016 traded Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers for Nick Green, Erik Swanson and Dillon Tate

And you can now include yesterday's trade with the Chicago White Sox that brought in Tommy Kahnle, David Robertson and Todd Frazier to the Bronx for Tyler Clippard, Ian Clarkin, Blake Rutherford and Tito Polo.

Leave your thoughts below in the comments section. Source credit goes to Baseball Reference.

Could the Yankees Seriously Make a Run at Yu Darvish?

The New York Yankees need starting pitching, this much we know. Who will the team go after, if anyone, though is anyone’s guess including the Yankees GM Brian Cashman. There’s that name again. With Michael Pineda done for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery yesterday and top arms like Jose Quintana off the board to the Chicago Cubs the Yankees may look to either the Oakland Athletics starter Sonny Gray or a new name that is entering the fold, the Texas Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish. Could the Yankees seriously make a run at Yu Darvish? Keep reading.

According to Jerry Crasnick the Rangers are willing to listen to offers on both Darvish and Cole Hamels as the team slips further and further behind the Houston Astros in the AL West Division race. Crasnick also noted that the Rangers would like to retain Darvish beyond the 2017 season much like the Yankees did with Aroldis Chapman last season so this could be a true rental for New York, and the cost for the Japanese-born right-hander should reflect that.

What would the Yankees be acquiring if the team did pull off a trade for Darvish? The 30-year old sports a 3.45 ERA in 125.1 innings at the time of this writing here in 2017 and all his peripherals and sabermetrics paint a comparable story. Darvish is once again the model of consistency and would fit at the top or near the top of any MLB rotation. Darvish still issues a few too many walks for your liking which is evident by his 3.02 BB/9 ration but he makes up for that a bit with a 9.41 K/9 ratio and 3.73 FIP. Darvish is also a bit home run prone at this point in his career which may scare the Yankees a little but again this is a true rental and would only be until the end of this season. You can live with a 0.94 career HR/9 ratio for a couple months if it leads you into the postseason.

Darvish is not what the Yankees have openly expressed that they are interested in. He is on the wrong side of 30, although he isn’t old by any means, and he isn’t controllable beyond the 2017 season. You have to keep in mind though that the Yankees came up with this statement before Michael Pineda underwent Tommy John surgery. If the team wants to compete in 2017, and that is still a big “if” as the team looks to be also content with continuing the youth movement at any cost, the team will need to add a starting pitcher. Whether that pitcher is Sonny Gray, Yu Darvish, another name we aren’t talking about or Chance Adams remains to be seen but the Yankees need another starter. Period. I, for one, am not sold on Bryan Mitchell. Will that pitcher be Darvish and at what cost? Stay tuned. 

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Minnesota Twins 7/19

Let’s make this a game that Brian Cashman could be proud of. I mean, it is his day on the blog after all. Go out there and win it for the Cashman! In all seriousness though it is game time between the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins. In the finale of their three-game set the Yankees will send Jordan Montgomery out to the mound to take on Jose Berrios of the Twins. The game will be played at 1:10 pm ET inside Target Field in Minnesota and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along in your cars, while you’re at work like I am and on the radio by tuning into the WFAN broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

5K followers on Twitter was nothing, now I want 6K. Come on Greedy Pinstripes family, unite. Follow us by following @GreedyStripes and tell your friends. Go Yankees!!!

Every Significant Brian Cashman Draft Pick Signing

The state of the farm system begins and ends in the draft so the fact that the New York Yankees finally have a farm system to speak of may be the workings of Brian Cashman. Sure, trades for Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield, Dillon Tate, Albert Abreu and others never hurt but quietly and surprisingly to some the Yankees have done well in the draft of late as well. The system is stocked with talent from top to bottom and is deep as it has ever been so do we finally praise Cashman for this? Or do we, the fan base, still think Cashman couldn’t draft his way out of a wet paper bag and hit water if he fell out of a boat? Here are his significant draft picks since he took over as the Yankees GM, in my opinion so if I missed one leave it below in the comments section, for better or worse.

1998:

1st round (24th overall): OF Andy Brown - Richmond (IN) High School

1st round (43rd overall): P Mark Prior - University High School (San Diego) Did Not Sign

1999:

1st round (27th overall): P David Walling - University of Arkansas

7th round: IF Andy Phillips - University of Alabama

31st round: OF Kevin Thompson - Grayson County College

2000:

1st round (28th overall): C David Parrish - University of Michigan

1st round (34th overall): SS Bronson Sardinha - Kamehameha High School

1st round (42nd overall): P Jon Skaggs - Rice University

4th round: P Matt Smith - Oklahoma State University

10th round: P Jason Anderson - University of Illinois

26th round: P Sean Henn - McLennan Community College

2001:

1st round (23rd overall): OF John-Ford Griffin - Florida State University

2nd round: OF Shelley Duncan - University of Arizona

3rd round: P Chase Wright - Iowa Park High School

2002:

23rd round: P Eric Hacker - Duncanville High School

26th round: P Phil Coke - San Joaquin Delta College

2003:

1st round (27th overall): 3B Eric Duncan - Seton Hall Prep High School

9th round: P Tyler Clippard - J.W. Mitchell High School

10th round: P T.J. Beam - University of Mississippi

19th round: P Jeff Karstens - Texas Tech University

43rd round: P Justin Berg - Indian Hills Community College

2004:

1st round (23rd overall): P Philip Hughes - Foothill High School (Santa Ana, CA)

1st round (37th overall): C Jonathan Poterson - Chandler (AZ) High School

1st round (41st overall): P Jeff Marquez - Sacramento City College

33rd round: P Mike Dunn - College of Southern Nevada

2005:

1st round (17th overall): SS C.J. Henry - Putnam City High School

3rd round: OF Brett Gardner - College of Charleston

8th round: OF Austin Jackson - Billy Ryan High School

2006:

1st round (21st overall): P Ian Kennedy - University of Southern California

1st round (41st overall): P Joba Chamberlain - University of Nebraska

3rd round: P Zach McAllister - Illinois Valley Central High School

4th round: OF Colin Curtis - Arizona State University

5th round: P George Kontos - Northwestern University

8th round: P Dellin Betances - Grand Street High School

9th round: P Mark Melancon - University of Arizona

13th round: P Daniel McCutchen - University of Oklahoma

17th round: P David Robertson - University of Alabama

20th round: OF Kevin Russo - Baylor University

2007:

1st round (30th overall): P Andrew Brackman - University of North Carolina

2nd round: C Austin Romine - El Toro High School

27th round: IF Brandon Laird - Cypress College

2008:

1st round: (28th overall): P Gerrit Cole - Orange Lutheran High School Did Not Sign

1st round: (44th overall): P Jeremy Bleich - Stanford University

3rd round: IF David Adams - University of Virginia

4th round: IF Corban Joseph - Franklin (TN) High School

6th round: P Brett Marshall - Ross S. Sterling High School

10th round: P D.J. Mitchell - Clemson University

14th round: P David Phelps - University of Notre Dame

2009:

1st round (29th overall): OF Slade Heathcott - Texas High School

2nd round: C John Ryan Murphy - The Pendleton School

4th round: P Adam Warren - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

5th round: P Caleb Cotham - Vanderbilt University

16th round: P Bryan Mitchell - Rockingham County High School

2010:

1st round (32nd overall): SS Cito Culver - West Irondequoit High School

2011:

1st round (51st overall): 3B Dante Bichette, Jr. - Orangewood Christian High School

5th round: 1B Greg Bird - Grandview High School (Aurora)

16th round: P Branden Pinder - California State University, Long Beach

2012:

1st round (30th overall): P Ty Hensley - Edmond Santa Fe High School

2nd round: C Peter O'Brien - University of Miami

4th round: P Corey Black - Faulkner University

2013:

1st round (26th overall): 3B Eric Jagielo - University of Notre Dame

1st round (32nd overall): OF Aaron Judge - Fresno State University

1st round (33rd overall): P Ian Clarkin - James Madison High School (San Diego)

7th round: P Nick Rumbelow - Louisiana State University

2014:

2nd round: P Jacob Lindgren - Mississippi State University

6th round: P Jonathan Holder - Mississippi State University

2015:

1st round (16th overall): P James Kaprielian - UCLA

1st round (30th overall): SS Kyle Holder - University of San Diego

2016:

1st round (18th overall): OF Blake Rutherford - Chaminade College Preparatory School

All draft picks and information credited to Baseball Reference as a source. I went ahead and also bolded some of the picks I found to be successful at the Major League level. Enjoy and check back later for more on what may go down in infamy as Brian Cashman Day here on the blog.

Out with the Old and In with the New, or Vice Versa?...

Credit:  Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune

Yankees 6, Twins 3...

On Tuesday, the Yankees faced baseball's oldest player and a former Yank.  With a 2-8 record and 8.14 ERA for the Atlanta Braves, Bartolo Colon looked to be a feast for the young Baby Bombers.  But after he shut down the Yankees in the first inning like a young ace, I had fears that Colon was going to be  a master, for one night, against the Yankees.  Fortunately, he wore down quickly and the Yankees got to him in the fifth inning to rally for the victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Credit:  Jesse Johnson/USA TODAY Sports

Admittedly, it was a little hard to focus on the game as rumors were swirling about the Yankees potential acquisition of Todd Frazier, David Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle from the Chicago White Sox.  The trade became official after the game but more on that later.

I like Yankees starter Luis Cessa and he's done well at Triple A.  But for whatever reason, it just has not translated at the Major League level for him...yet.  It felt like it was going to be a long night when Colon breezed through the top of the Yankees batting order in the first inning including a strike out of Aaron Judge.  Cessa, on the other hand, struggled out of the gate.  He walked the first two batters and hit Miguel Sano with a pitch to load the bases with only one out.  After getting Max Kepler to pop out, Cessa walked Robbie Grossman to give the Twins the early 1-0 lead.  Fortunately, Cessa struck out Eddie Rosario to prevent any further damage.  One run on no hits...not exactly how you want to start a game.

Credit:  Randy Miller/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Cessa walked the first batter of the second inning but settled down to retire the next three batters.  With the Yankee offense still unable to get anything going against Colon, the Twins added to their lead in the third when Miguel Sano homered to center (a solo shot into the bullpen).

The Yankees finally got on the board in the top of the 4th.  Aaron Judge opened the inning with a single to left.  Didi Gregorius hit an infield grounder to third that was deflected off Colon for a single.  Clint Frazier hit into a force out that erased Gregorius at second but Judge advanced to third.  Chase Headley singled to center, past a diving Brian Dozier, to bring home Judge and it was 2-1 Twins.  

The Twins got the run right back in the bottom of the inning.  Jason Castro hit a one-out double to the right field wall and Brian Dozier hit a fly ball that nearly went out of the park, bouncing off the upper part of the scoreboard area on the right field fence, as the Twins regained the two-run advantage, 3-1.  Cessa was able to retire Zack Granite on a ground out, but the Yankees brought in Chasen Shreve to secure the final out, a ground out by Joe Mauer.  

The 4th inning had showed the Yankees were finally starting to make progress against the ancient Colon but the 5th inning showed why Colon is no longer an Atlanta Brave.  Ronald Torreyes singled to left center and moved to third on a ground rule double by Brett Gardner, a fly ball that bounced just inside of the left foul line before falling into the left field stands on the foul side. Gary Sanchez then doubled to left, scoring both Torreyes and Gardner.  The game was tied at 3.  Twins manager Paul Molitor had seen enough and pulled Colon in favor of reliever Ryan Pressly.  But the results were no different.  Aaron Judge singled to center to score Sanchez and after Matt Holliday struck out, Didi Gregorius blasted a two-run homer to right. The Yankees had their first lead of the series, 6-3.

Credit:  Jesse Johnson/USA TODAY Sports

The Twins came right back in the bottom of the 5th and it looked like they might get some runs back.  Miguel Sano doubled to left and Max Kepler singled to right, moving Sano to third.  Fortunately, Chasen Shreve struck out the next two batters and induced Jorge Polanco into an infield popout to leave Sano stranded at third.

The Yankees loaded the bases again in the 6th inning but Matt Holliday hit a grounder for the final out leaving the bases full.  From there it was up to the Yankees bullpen.  Adam Warren was great.  He pitched two innings of hitless ball in the 6th and 7th, striking out 2.  From there, it was a high wire act with Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman.  Robbie Grossman doubled off Betances to open the bottom of the 8th.  After striking out Eddie Rosario, Betances hit pinch-hitter Eduardo Escobar with a pitch.  He struck out Jason Castro but walked the dangerous Brian Dozier to load the bases.  Zack Granite hit a hard fly ball to right looked to be trouble for a second but it fell short of the wall into Aaron Judge's glove for the final out.  A few groans from the Target Field crowd...

Aroldis Chapman took over in the 9th but it was not easy.  He walked Joe Mauer on a full count to start the inning.  A wild pitch moved Mauer to second and eliminated the possibility of a double play.  Miguel Sano grounded out, Ronald Torreyes to Garrett Cooper, moving Mauer to third.  Fortunately, Chapman retired the next two batters for his 10th save as the Yankees evened the series at a game apiece.  

Credit:  Getty Images

The Yankees (48-44) remained in third place in the AL East with the win as both the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays won.  The Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-4, in 15 innings and the Rays beat the Oakland A's, 4-3.  The Yankees are 3 1/2 games behind the Red Sox and a 1 1/2 games behind the Rays.

Throughout the game, I was keeping an eye on the Los Angeles Dodgers game in Chicago against White Sox.  Todd Frazier had been held out of the game, and neither David Robertson nor Tommy Kahnle pitched despite Chicago's use of multiple pitchers in the 1-0 loss to Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers.  The White Sox game ended before Aroldis Chapman shut down the Twins.  Interestingly, Tyler Clippard, one of the rumored players going to the White Sox (which turned out to be true), was warming with Aroldis Chapman in the top of the 9th inning and might have come into the game had the Yankees been able to add to their lead.

The Yankees conclude the series in Minneapolis this afternoon.  

The Yankees Are Officially Buyers...

What is old is new again!  The question whether the Yankees would be buyers or sellers or hold pat was answered after the game when the rumored deal with the White Sox became official.  In exchange for New Jersey native Todd Frazier and former Yankees David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle, the Yankees sent their #4 prospect, outfielder Blake Rutherford, LHP Ian Clarkin, OF Tito Polo and reliever Tyler Clippard to Chicago.  

Credit:  Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

I am sad to see Rutherford go but all things considered, it is a position of depth and there is still a possibility the Yankees could make a run at Bryce Harper when he becomes a free agent so Rutherford was a bit redundant (particularly given the breakout performance of Double-A outfielder Estevan Florial).  I've always liked Ian Clarkin and had hoped that he would eventually find his way to the Bronx after injuries prevented the lefty pitcher from advancing more quickly.  Polo is an unranked prospect that the Yankees acquired from the Pirates in the trade that sent Ivan Nova to Pittsburgh.  I am obviously not disappointed to see Clippard go, especially since Robertson and Kahnle represent significant bullpen upgrades.  

I remember being so disappointed when the Yankees lost Tommy Kahnle to the Colorado Rockies in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft and he stuck with the Rockies for the entire year.  I was very aware of him when the Rockies traded him to the White Sox last November.  He was a good reliever in Denver and has been even better for the White Sox.  

Credit:  Paul Sancya/AP

I hated to see David Robertson leave via free agency.  I remember when there was the potential that the Yankees could sign both Andrew Miller and David Robertson but inevitably they chose to sign Miller and take the compensation pick (SS Kyle Holder) to let the highly regarded Robertson sign elsewhere.  During his first year with the White Sox, he was placed on waivers after the trading deadline and the Yankees put in the winning claim.  There was no activity in trade talks but I remember the momentary excitement about Robertson's possible return.  

Todd Frazier has the ability to play first base in addition to third but time will tell whether Manager Joe Girardi uses Frazier or Chase Headley at first.  Given that Frazier is clearly a rental, I suspect that he'll be the regular first baseman but that is Girardi's decision to make.  

With Clippard off the roster, the Yankees still have to make two moves today.  My immediate thought would be the demotions of Ji-Man Choi and Luis Cessa to Triple A.  But Garrett Cooper could be the odd man out if the Yankees feel he would be better served by starting every day for the RailRiders.  

Also, it will be interesting to see if Clint Frazier gives up #30 to Robertson.  I personally think he should.  He had no prior attachments to the number.  As for Todd Frazier, he wears Paul O'Neill's number which has not been retired.  I wonder if he is forced to choose a new number or if the Yankees finally allow the number to be worn again.  All things considered, it is just a two month rental so it probably makes more sense to keep #21 in moth balls.

Welcome (or welcome back) to the Yankees, Todd, David and Tommy!

Odds & Ends...

To make room on the active roster for RHP Luis Cessa who started Tuesday's game, the Yankees optioned RHP Bryan Mitchell, Monday's starter, to Triple A.  Poor Mitchell, he's probably getting tired of the Bronx-to-Scranton Shuttle.  

Credit:  Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins placed former Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes on the 60-day disabled list.  I guess I really haven't been following Hughes' career in the Twin Cities, but I did not realize that he's been battling Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS).  As defined by Wikipedia, TOS is a condition in which there is a compression of the nerves, arteries or veins in the passageway from the lower neck to the armpit.  He had part of a rib removed through surgery last year and is experiencing recurring symptoms which could lead to the removal of the remainder of the rib to alleviate pressure.  I sincerely hope that Hughes is able to get medical treatment he needs and is able to make a complete recovery.  

Have a great Wednesday!  A wonderful day to grab a victory and hop a plane for the Great Northwest!  Let's Go Yankees!