Now I'm no General Manager of the New York Yankees, but I'm a fan and happy to lend my inferior knowledge to the man who is the Yankees' GM, Brian Cashman. And while I am but a casual fan I should note that Mr. Cashman has actually been following rather closely to my fantasy GM strategy that I laid out several years ago. Kudos sir!
So here is another bit of free advice (if you keep taking it I might one day charge!) as the New York Yankees approach the 2016 non-waiver trade deadline:
1. Trade Carlos Beltran. Now this move cries "Sell! Sell!" but that's what I'm crying. Simply put, too many players are underperforming for the Yankees to realistically expect a playoff appearance this season. CC Sabathia is starting to fade, A-Rod and Tex are doing so bad people are saying release them, Castro has cooled off, Ellsbury has been nothing to write home about, and Headley is whining about the dimensions of Yankee Stadium. The starting pitching is too inconsistent and the offense is too weak. Short of a very strong month (and maybe a weak month by some division rivals) this team should read the writing on the wall and sell. If that is the case, Carlos Beltran is the hitter to put on the market. He is having a resurgent year and should fit in well with a team in need of an offensive boost. Since a QO is a dangerous alternative since he at his age might just accept it, they would be better served getting value for him now.
2. Keep Andrew Miller. Now I'm not saying don't listen to offers for him, any wise GM should have no such thing as an off limits player, but they should have a clear understanding of who they are not interested in trading and would need to be wowed into doing so. That is my feeling with Miller. A lot of talk is that one or both of Miller or Ardolis Chapman will be traded. Now if the market is too good, then do it. But Miller is effective, and locked in for not a long commitment at an affordable price. If the Yankees were to try to replace that production via free agency now it will cost a fair penny more and short of Chapman likely be less effective. The Betances-Miller duo is worth keeping.
3. Deal Ardolis Chapman. Here a QO and extension pursuit is a fair alternative, but the goal should be to deal him. The Yankees got Chapman on the cheap, and if they can turn him into two months of excellent relief + a good prospect they did plenty with him. Not only that, but they could still pursue him in free agency (although I imagine we are talking 50-70mm to resign him). And if they signed him, they would be more able if they chose then to deal Miller in the offseason. But because this team was still effective with just Betances-Miller they could afford to deal Chapman.
4. Don't release Tex and A-Rod. I know there is pressure to do so since they are hitting so poorly, but these two are still only a year removed from Renaissance seasons and may still return to some decent form before the season is up. Additionally, the team is too injured and shallow in depth to care at this point. A-Rod is still a quality DH against lefties at least (he just needs to do something against RHP), and with Bird out for the season and the team running guys like Ike Davis at 1B when he was injured, I have a hard time seeing the case for cutting ties with Mark Texierra. In the absence of an actually 1B replacement, just let the guy play. He still plays some quality defense.
5. Play the numbers game. The Yankees already have several really good and highly rated young players/prospects: Bird, Judge, Mateo, Severino, Sanchez. They don't need a specific position prospect, instead then they should focus on playing the numbers and aim for quantity over quality. Now again this is a general rule. If the deal with a player of such quality comes along you can't say no then don't, but as a rule don't go for just the best player you can get but perhaps several solid or high risk high reward players instead. This is Dave Stearns' approach in Milwaukee. Prospects, even blue chip ones, bust. But playing the odds and getting a lot of players you like instead of the one you like best may be more likely to pan out. And as Cashman has been working to restock his system the last few years by withholding making trades, and acquiring young, controllable players, and dominating the international market this is another way to go. Keep filling the system with quality players. The Yankees don't need to produce stars, they need to produce the players who can surround stars. Because they can afford to add the star when they need one. And with the next two seasons seeing an end to some of those disastrous deals, they can gradually (as opposed to say 2008-9 offseason when they signed Tex, Burnett, and Sabathia in like a week) again start to take on big deals to add the players they want most.
