The Yankees were a good team before they ever made a trade in the lead-in to the July 31 deadline. They were competitive in the AL East, in possession of a wild card at their worst, and even their stretch of poor play had them outscoring opponents and losing mostly due to the bullpen rather than any teamwide-issues.
The Yankees set themselves up for the present and future with July trades
Tuesday’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at the Yankees’ successful deadline, the Yu Darvish trade, and more from a busy July 31.
Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
The trade deadline has passed, and the Yankees are not only better in 2017 than they were, but they also look as if they’ve set themselves up well for the future. And they did so without dealing away their most talented young players, too, meaning they’ve managed to match their closest rivals, the Red Sox, in more ways than just regular season record.
Sonny Gray is the latest get for New York, and when healthy he’s a No. 2 starter. He solidifies a rotation that has seen Masahiro Tanaka finally returning to form and that includes Luis Severino’s breakout and a CC Sabathia who is once again useful to the Yankees. Gray joins another new addition, Jaime Garcia, whose job is to push the depth New York has tapped into more than it desired back into the reserves pool.
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Earlier in July, the Yankees picked up relievers David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle to fortify a bullpen in need, and Todd Frazier to slot in at third base. They gave up Blake Rutherford, a preseason top-10 prospect, in this deal, but they got back Kahnle, who isn’t a free agent until 2021 and can help anchor their pen until then. They plugged holes with Garcia, Frazier, and Robertson, while adding pieces who can help them now and later to justify shipping off top prospects.
And while losing four of their preseason top-10 prospects in a month is no small thing, the Yankees managed to keep Clint Frazier. They’ve already seen Aaron Judge morph into a monster who devours big-league pitching. Gleyber Torres was destroying minor-league pitchers before Tommy John surgery ended his year. The influx of young Yankees is not over yet, and when they all get to the Bronx, they’re going to be joining what looks like an already successful team.
- The Dodgers’ obsession with short rest in the postseason should be over now that they’ve added Yu Darvish to a team that also has Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, and Alex Wood.
- The Rangers could have kept Darvish and kept trying to win in 2017, but the potential to lose twice was there: once by missing the postseason, and a second time if Darvish walked away as a free agent. They made the right call by dealing him for prospects.
- The Darvish trade was reported well after the 4 p.m. deadline had passed, and the internet lost it when the surprise dropped.
- The Royals improved their club with trades before the deadline, while most of the rest of the AL did little or nothing at all.
- The Indians might have gone small at the deadline, but they can still win big in October.
- The Tigers couldn’t deal Justin Verlander and his contract before the deadline, but he’s still a candidate to be moved in August as a waiver trade.
- The Mets, too, are not done selling and are hoping to use August to complete what they could not in July.
- Darvish wasn’t the only player the Dodgers traded for, as they also picked up Tony Watson, who has seen his season recover after it fell apart in June.
- Here’s every deal completed before the July 31 deadline.
- Yoan Moncada was injured in a collision with teammate Willy Garcia, but initial reports are positive.
- Chris Archer’s beef with Astros’ mascot Orbit escalated with a “Declaration of Unfriendliness.”
- Jose Fernandez’s family visited the Marlins’ clubhouse in memory of the late Miami star on what would have been his 25th birthday.
- Don’t worry, we’ll leave today’s newsletter on a less sad note: A baby giraffe at the Fort Worth Zoo was named after Adrian Beltre.
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