MLB rumors: The supposedly imminent deal of Baltimore Orioles favorite player to the Yankees.
Has the Yankees been left out?
The Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees are now tied for the AL East division lead, so it makes sense that the Yankees announced themselves buyers before to the trade deadline. A little twist to the story, though, is that the Yankees were supposedly planning to bring in a pitching reinforcement, maybe in the form of Jack Flaherty, while holding onto one of their big-league assets, left-handed starting pitcher Nestor Cortes.
Ultimately, though, it was not the Yankees who were able to get Flaherty through trade. The 28-year-old righty was acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers. The Dodgers are a team that frequently outscores the Yankees in big-league deals. The Yankees choose to keep Cortes past the cutoff point since they didn’t have a backup ready.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes that if the Yankees had signed Jack Flaherty, there was a good chance they would have dealt Nestor Cortes to the St. Louis Cardinals, maybe in exchange for infielder Tommy Edman. Nightengale went so far as to write that the Yankees were “almost certain” to complete these deals.
The Yankees reportedly made the decision not to trade for Flaherty because of the concerns they had about his medical history, especially with regard to his back. However, Flaherty is having a career year as he is presently displaying an excellent 2.80 ERA supported by a high strikeout rate. The Yankees can at least find solace in the fact that the 29-year-old southpaw isn’t too bad of a pitcher himself. He would have been an improvement over Cortes.
Has the Yankees been left out?
New York would have felt more at ease utilizing Nestor Cortes as a tool to acquire Tommy Edman, an outstanding defensive shortstop, if Jack Flaherty had signed with the Yankees. Although Edman is now sidelined by injury, his return is anticipated later in the season. With Gleyber Torres struggling at second base, Edman would have strengthened the Yankees’ second base position.
Torres is now having one of his worst seasons as a professional, with the Yankees, having played 113 games, with his WAR is at a pitiful 0.5 (per Fangraphs). Edman would have supplied them with an outstanding defense in the middle of the diamond, assuming, of course, that his injury rehabilitation proceeds as expected. His defense has remained rather problematic.
Instead, Edman was acquired by the Dodgers at an extremely low cost. They could have acquired him and Michael Kopech for less money, but they only gave up Miguel Vargas and their system’s 17th and 23rd-ranked prospects.
