Brian Cashman explains why Yankees haven’t made another trade
Yankees fans desperately want to see Brian Cashman add an impact bat to the lineup, but he has a very simple explanation as to why that hasn’t happened.
Aaron Judge’s wrist injury has robbed the New York Yankees of a lot of power in the middle of their lineup. Predictably, fans would like to see the issue solved via a trade. Unfortunately, it’s very unlikely that Brian Cashman is going to pull the trigger on a meaningful deal at this point in the season.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to acquire an All-Star slugger or an ace pitcher. Cashman would love to give Aaron Boone more talent to work with in the franchise’s quest for a 28th World Series title. The Yankees’ inability to make a big move is a simple product of their success on the season combined with the system MLB has in place.
The only way any player can be traded at this point is if they pass through waivers. The fact that the Yankees currently possess the second-best record in all of baseball means everyone other than the Red Sox has to pass on a player for him to become available. In a strange way, the team’s on-field success is working against them at the moment.
Even if that happens, the team is under zero obligation to trade the player to the Bronx. Cashman freely admits that the Yankees have claimed “a lot of guys,” but to date, they haven’t been awarded the opportunity to acquire anyone of note.
The team’s unwillingness to add significant money beyond this season is also a limiting factor. The Yankees are determined to stay under the luxury tax threshold to open the door for future spending. Even if a high-priced veteran became available, it’s very likely Cashman would pass on acquiring him just to keep his options open in the offseason.
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None of that is what Yankees fans want to hear, but it’s sound logic from the team’s general manager. Cashman doesn’t have many options available to him at the current time. The Yankees front office has all the ambition in the world, but they don’t have the opportunity to make a significant move before Sept. 1.