Being in playoff hunt has hamstrung the Yankees
Domingo German of the Yankees pitches in the top of the fifth inning against the Rays at Yankee Stadium on Monday. Credit: Errol Anderson
Not every often during Hal Steinbrenner’s 15-year stewardship of the Yankees has he been envious of his Mets’ counterpart.
But Tuesday’s trade deadline certainly was one of those rare times.
As the Yankees seemed paralyzed by their bloated payroll and underperforming mega-contracts, Steve Cohen simply kept writing checks to make his problems disappear. And by doing so, the Mets were able to rapidly change the direction of their franchise over the course of five days, “re-purposing” a large chunk of Cohen’s $377 million investment into a leaner, younger, more athletic future.
Privately, Steinbrenner had to be insanely jealous.
Sure, the Mets blew up their 2023 season, and Cohen now has to wear the title of creating the most expensive failure in baseball history. But for a guy worth $17 billion, we doubt he’s losing any sleep over it.
Across town, the Yankees remain stuck with their own $294 million albatross, and as general manager Brian Cashman expressed Tuesday during his post-deadline mea culpa, no way out of this Bronx dungeon. To hear Cashman refer to his team’s playoff position, the 3 1/2-game deficit at the time felt more like handcuffs chaining him to this dysfunctional roster, preventing the GM from doing what’s necessary -- or “taken a wrecking ball to it,” as he described.
That’s the painful part. The Yankees still are very much in the wild-card race, and yet seem so far removed from being a true October threat. No wonder Cashman couldn’t pick a lane at this year’s deadline.
On one hand, his rotation is fronted by a $324-million ace in Gerrit Cole, who is having a legit Cy Young season, and reigning MVP Aaron Judge -- the most dangerous offensive player on the planet -- is back after a seven-week IL stint. The Yankees also have the majors’ best bullpen, which entered Wednesday with a 3.09 ERA.
Otherwise, the Yankees are a costly, underachieving mess -- and were hit with another unanticipated blow before Wednesday’s game when Domingo German was placed on the restricted list to be treated for alcohol abuse. Only a month ago, German pitched the fourth perfect game in franchise history (and 24th overall) but that now becomes a footnote to the serious real-life problem facing him and his family.
As for the Yankees’ on-field deficiencies, six of their nine positions have produced an OPS that ranks 24th or lower among the 30 MLB teams. The three exceptions? Centerfield is eighth (.795), rightfield is ninth (.783) and second base is 14th (.716). Does that look like a roster deserving of a playoff spot? It’s fairly incredible that the Yankees are hanging in contention, especially in the rock-fight AL East, and their perplexing situation is what made Cashman seem so miserable in the wake of Tuesday’s deadline.
Over the years, Cashman has gone for the easy “plug-and-play” solutions -- one of his favorite terms -- to address obvious needs. Got a lefthanded-power deficiency? Grab Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo. Need rotation help? Reach for a Frankie Montas or Sonny Gray. As these names indicate, on more than a few occasions Cashman picked the wrong targets, burning solid prospect capital while doing so.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest Cashman was a bit gun shy this time around, and the risk-reward benefit was less defined given the Yankees’ mind-numbing inconsistency over the first four months. To Cashman, the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze.
“I thought what we had was good enough,” Cashman said. “And now we’re going to try to see if that’s the case ... We’d love to add anything that could impact in a positive way, because that’s part of the job. But if a) the availability by our [minor-league] system wasn’t there or b) the associated price tags were prohibitive, then we’re going to go with what we have. So that’s what we did.”
Also, at this stage, the mistakes are piling up, through advanced age and now-overpriced contracts. While seven teams have had more players on the IL than the Yankees’ 21 this season, they were second only to the Dodgers in total days missed (1,428) and first in the money spent on those absences, at a cost of $62 million (according to Spotrac.com).
And unlike Cohen, Steinbrenner can’t -- or won’t -- dig into his revenue streams to help Cashman erase all the costly deals dragging the Yankees down, both now and into the future. Giancarlo Stanton still flashes awesome power, but he’s hitting .197, continues to be limited physically -- despite his uptick in outfield duty -- and is due another $128 million through 2027. DJ LeMahieu, the two-time batting champ quickly deteriorating at age 35, was at .232 before Wednesday’s game. At least Anthony Rizzo, literally the worst offensive player in the majors since the end of May, was mercifully on the bench to spare him from facing the Rays’ dominant lefty Shane McClanahan.
“It’s nose to the grindstone,” manager Aaron Boone said before Wednesday’s game. “We’re in a position where we’ve got a chance.”
In the big picture, based on the Yankees' indecision at the deadline, they don't seem so sure that's a good thing.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
