The Yanks made some very key additions this past week that will certainly help them throughout October and the rest of the way throughout the season. Now although they did not have a trade deadline like the Padres who acquired all of the big names for a bundle of prospects, they had a great deadline in my opinion.
The thing that the Yanks did best during this deadline was acquire their players before deadline day. Deadline day is when things get hectic and if there is a slight miscommunication while discussing a trade, things can go south quickly. They had ample time before the deadline when they acquired their biggest guys Andrew Benintendi and Frankie Montas.
In total 5 trades were made and all of them were focused on winning NOW. Benintendi certainly adds that missing offensive outfield bat that the Yanks had lacked from Joey Gallo and Aaron Hicks's inconsistencies. They picked up the missing #2 starter that can give you lots of confidence going into a second postseason game in Frankie Montas. Montas was a guy they had been eyeing for awhile now and they also got another reliever in Lou Trivino in that deal as well.
Trivino has not been very good this season and not in recent history either, so maybe the Yanks are trying to make Trivino into their next Clay Holmes prospect. A guy who had been struggling on his previous team, then picked up by the Yanks and gets fixed. They acquired not one but two relievers after getting Scott Effross from the Cubs as well. Effross has been having a great season with a low ERA and a sidearm pitcher. Effross is a great addition as well because if he meets or exceeds expectations, then the Yanks still have control of him through 2028. The Yankee bullpen, although they have been so good this season, has been drastically riddled by injuries to Michael King, Chad Green, Miguel Castro, and some other guys as well.
The move that everyone wanted the Yanks to make including myself was the Joey Gallo trade and they did end up moving him. Gallo goes from one contender to another as he was traded to the Dodgers. Gallo just couldn't find his stride at all in NY and the Yanks finally said this is enough and moved on. When you're batting .085 in your last 30 games it's clear you're not getting any better. The Yanks actually got a really nice piece in return for Gallo in Double-A pitcher Clayton Beeter. After losing so many pitching prospects in the previous deals made, Beeter comes in as the 10th overall prospect in the Yankee system now. Brian Cashman certainly knows how to negotiate and he does it well.
Now the last trade they made was a bit of a confusing one as they gave up longtime Yankee starter Jordan Montgomery for center fielder Harrison Bader. Montgomery was pitching just fine this season and was a great 4th to 5th guy in the rotation and to dump him off to the Cardinals just like that was a bit confusing. The Yanks got Bader on the other hand because he is arguably the best defensive outfielder in the league and will start crucial games for them come playoff time. He is under control for multiple seasons as well. It's sad to say goodbye to Montgomery and I wish that they added another starting pitcher such as Pablo Lopez in his place, but the Yanks are doing what is best for success.
The Yanks gave up many prospects to complete these deals and in total they gave up 8 of their top 30 prospects for these 5 players they acquired. They ended up getting back another top 30 prospect in Beeter though. Prospects don't always pan out and most of them never reach those expectations that were set out for them. All in all I would give this trade deadline an A- for the Yanks. They definitely did great things, but I am still skeptical about the Montgomery trade which had no effect in acquiring another starting pitcher. I can't wait to see what these guys can do to help out this team even more as the season continues and as October looms upon us.
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