Monday, July 16, 2012
NJ.com: Carig: Yankees see themselves in strong position as trade deadline approaches
For now, it’s not much of a decision. The general manager contends that the Yankees already have the right pieces on hand to compete for a championship, which is why he’s hesitant to make deals for improvements he called “marginal.”
Injuries might change the Yankees’ predicament by July 31 — Cashman’s last major opportunity to improve his roster — but even then he may walk away without making a big move.
“It’s going to be difficult to improve on this roster,” Cashman said, before watching the Yankees prove his point.
I think Cashman’s probably right. They may not have the optimal 25 man roster right now, but they have the pieces in the organization to make themselves better down the stretch. Part of that will be the (hopefully) returning injured like Brett Gardner, Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain.
Another part of it may be finding a way to squeeze Russell Branyan (currently hitting .309/.438/.655 in 137 AAA PAs) or Jack Cust (.259/.400/.498 in 370 AAA PAs) onto the roster as DH options. They aren’t going to trade for a catcher who can outhit Russell Martin, so you just hope he hits closer to how he projects to hit going forward than he has so far, and you hope the rest of the team stays healthy.
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