Yankees Fail to Upgrade Rotation Before Trade Deadline
(WFAN) -- Baseball's trade deadline passed Wednesday without the Yankees finding help for their rotation.
The Yanks whiffed on landing any of the big-name starting pitchers whom were reportedly being shopped. Madison Bumgarner, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler and Robbie Ray stayed put. Trevor Bauer was shipped to Cincinnati on Tuesday night, and Tanner Roark landed in Oakland on Wednesday.
The only acquisition the Yankees made Wednesday was for 20-year-old, left-handed pitching prospect Alfredo Garcia, who was in the Colorado Rockies' organization. The Yanks sent reliever Joe Harvey to Colorado in the last-minute deal.
With Major League Baseball this year ditching its second trade deadline, which had required players to first clear waivers, the Yankees will have to hang their World Series hopes on the pitchers they already have, a possibly risky proposition considering their starters have a 4.77 ERA this season and the team recently gave up 73 runs in a seven-game stretch.
Masahiro Tanaka, Domingo German, CC Sabathia and James Paxton all entered Wednesday with ERAs of 4.72 or higher, and Domingo German, despite his 13-2 record, has a 4.08 ERA.
Ace Luis Severino has been sidelined all season with lat and shoulder injuries. He is still weeks away from returning. And 39-year-old Sabathia is currently on the injured list with a knee injury.
The most smoke involving the Yankees on Wednesday centered on the Diamondbacks' Ray and the Mets' Wheeler. The talks for Ray collapsed after Arizona demanded outfielder Clint Frazier and three prospects, WFAN baseball insider Jon Heyman reported.
Despite that the Yankees and Mets rarely trading with each other -- the last major-league deal between them was 15 years ago -- the teams were engaged in talks on Wheeler on Wednesday, reports said. But ultimately, they could not reach an agreement.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros, the Yankees' top competition in American League, bolstered their own rotation by acquiring former Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke from Arizona.
It appeared the Yankees had shifted their attention at one point Wednesday to fortifying their bullpen and were reportedly pursuing Tigers closer Shane Greene -- a former Yankee -- and Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez with plans to use him as a reliever. However, Greene was dealt to the Braves and Sanchez was also sent to Houston.
Garcia, the newest Yankee, is 3-10 this season with a 6.00 ERA in Class A ball.
The Yankees entered Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks with a 67-39 and 7 1/2 games ahead of the Rays for the AL East lead.
