Yankees Hot Corner – So now what? Only a few hours until Trade Deadline

There was no reason to do the Yankees GBU of the Red Sox series because it’s abundantly clear that they need some serious help on their pitching staff.  It’s been said over and over that the Yankee’s Achilles Heel is their lack of pitching depth.  If anything, the Red Sox did them a favor by exposing the Yankee staff and showing that Brian Cashman needs to do something.

It’s now July 31st with just a few hours to go until the MLB Trade Deadline, and the Yankees have done absolutely nothing.  Not only have the Yankees done nothing but two of the Yankee’s biggest targets, Marcus Stroman and Trevor Bauer, have already been traded to non-contenders.

Stroman thought he was on his way to the Yankees when he was traded from Toronto earlier this week, but somehow the Mets pulled off the deal and sent two minor league pitchers back to the Blue Jays.  As for Bauer, he was part of a three-way trade with San Diego and Cincinnati where Yasiel Puig was the other focal point of the deal, going back to Cleveland in return.

There aren’t many options left for the Yankees to choose from, unless for some reason either of those two teams try to flip their newly acquired assets for more assets.  The top “trade candidate” is still Madison Bumgarner, but with the Giants in the Wild Card race and a big, fat no-traude clause to the Yankees, it’s almost impossible to think that MadBum will be coming to the Bronx.

Who’s left then?  Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler have been floated around but the Mets clearly don’t want to make trades with the Yankees.  Robbie Ray is a name that was heating up around the Bronx, but he has almost less control than Aroldis Chapman and is susceptible for the home run.  It feels like trading for him is a recipe for disaster.

Other than them, there aren’t many names that pop out.  There would be no reason for the Yankees to give up assets just to get back a sub-par pitcher that won’t help in their rotation at all.  However, there really aren’t many options left for the Yankees.  Unless Brian Cashman can pull a rabbit out of his hat, it’ll be another disappointing Trade Deadline in the Bronx.  At this point, it’s a wait and see game.