No deal for Yanks, who decide to stand pat

Brian Cashman stood pat after all.

In the weeks leading up to Sunday's non-waivers trade deadline, few in the industry believed the Yankees' general manager when he said he wasn't likely to make any deals.

But when the clock struck 4 p.m., the Yankees hadn't.

Meaning, they very well may be staking their hopes of capturing a 28th world championship on the veteran right arms of Bartolo Colon (8-6, 3.30) and Freddy Garcia (10-7, 3.22), or one of the organization's stable of young arms.

"We never got close as far as I was concerned," Cashman said. "I explored every opportunity; they just didn't lead to anything that was of comfort from my perspective whatsoever. The [deals] that were presented to me were easy to say no on."

Among the most discussed in recent days was the Yankees' pursuit of Rockies righthander Ubaldo Jimenez, who was sent to the Indians in a four-player deal Saturday. The Rockies asked the Yankees for a package that included the organization's top prospect, Jesus Montero, and top-level pitching prospects Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos, whom the Rockies finally took off the table. But they also wanted Ivan Nova as part of the deal. That steep price, along with concerns about Jimenez's health, had the Yankees backing away.

The market for starters was thin and didn't excite Cashman, who said he and others in the organization ended up repeatedly having a similar conversation.

"A lot of times, you're sitting in the meetings and you're discussing what's available and what you have to give up for what's available and you're like, how much better is this, if at all, than what I've currently got in our rotation?" Cashman said.

There also was chatter Sunday morning about the Yankees pursuing Astros lefthander Wandy Rodriguez, but their interest, because of the pitcher's contract and the fact that the organization isn't overly impressed with his stuff, was lukewarm.

The rotation, of course, isn't set in stone. The Yankees still can trade for a starting pitcher or any other player. But players now have to clear waivers before being traded, which generally makes deals more difficult.

Cashman said that if Colon or Garcia falters or Phil Hughes continues to struggle, he's prepared to call on Nova (9-4 and unbeaten in his last six major-league starts), long man Hector Noesi or minor-leaguer Adam Warren.

"We have a lot of depth, we're going to have to rely on that and I'm very comfortable doing that," Cashman said. "I think we're in a deeper position than those other years where I had to supplement a little bit more."

That no deals were struck went over well in the clubhouse.

"That gives the whole team confidence that the front office, the manager and everybody has confidence in us," Mariano Rivera said. "We have a great team, so we just have to go out there and fight."

With Kimberley A. Martin