Well, it’s official sports fans. Cashman has pushed all of his chips into the middle of the table as this is the year to win it all. Lots of activity today:
- Yankees acquire Frankie Montas (starter) and Lou Trevino (reliever) from the A’s for some of their top minor league starting pitchers. Ken Waldichuk is their #1 pitching prospect and JP Sears was a guy that SU really liked so far this year. They also gave up their #10 prospect, Luis Medina. and a 2nd baseman in the minors. Montas is highly regarded as his career has taken off since being with the A’s although he has had some shoulder issues recently.
- Yankees also acquired a rookie reliever from the Cubs for another minor league pitcher
For SU, I personally like to root for the minor leaguers and see them develop over time. Now, truth be told, the Yankee pitching prospects usually get hurt or are traded so we never really see them (nor do we hear from them again on other teams). And Yankee minor leaguers are always over hyped – that is the truth. The key is Montas – can he be a top of the rotation pitcher in October? And who will he replace in the rotation? In short playoff series, that is where Boone will be (over) praised or (over) blamed. No doubt the front office will make this a group decision. If nothing else, it will make for great 2nd guessing in October.
Now, if Montas gets hurts, well not such a great move. But if he can get the Astros out, well definitely worth it. As a Yankee fan, you like the bold moves. This is the year to go for it all.
There seems to be a market for Joey Gallo. Padres, Rays mentioned as possible landing spots for him. SU would definitely avoid Tampa – you just know he will kill them in the playoffs although it is physically impossible for that swing to hit a baseball and keep it fair.
Yankee fans: good moves? Giving up too much from the minors?
Sports Update Intergalactic 
I think Cashman has had a terrific deadline so far and hasn’t pushed all of his chips in at all, despite that he’s come away with a new starting LF, high-end number 2 SP, and two relievers – always hot commodities this time of year. Plus, he beat the rush on bullpen arms, so I won’t be surprised if we end up seeing Yanks acquired them for much less than comparable arms come tomorrow (though, admittedly, Trivino’s numbers are historically bad this season). For Cashman to pull that off without giving up Volpe, Pereza, Dominguez or Wells is remarkable. They have plenty of chips left if they want to make a run at Soto in the winter, assuming he’s not traded tonight/tomorrow…
Soto, Soto, Soto…. he would end up being a God and eventually NYC will have more Hispanics living here than any other group. George’s large monument is shaking for this deal. A five tool player coming to NY… when was the last 5 tool player we had here? Probably Micky Mantle before his leg injury.
The moves the Astros are making are just as significant, and I don’t think they bode well for the Yanks in the playoffs. Mancini has been a very tough out for the Yanks, and Vasquez is solid, so their lineup just got two men deeper.