One of the bigger questions facing the New York Yankees is their starting pitching, and for weeks it only made sense for them to inquire with the Oakland Athletics about Sean Manaea and/or Frankie Montas.
And while Montas remains a member of the A’s, the San Diego Padres apparently were more willing to absorb Manaea’s salary, which might be why he was throwing a no-hitter in Arizona on Friday instead of in The Bronx.
The Yankees had been linked to Manaea since it was clear he became available. But the A’s sent Manaea and Aaron Holiday for Adrian Martinez and Euribiel Angeles, leaving the Yankees' pursuit for another starter unfulfilled.
Manaea's salary this season is set at $9.75 million, and he’ll be a free agent in the offseason. MLB insider Ken Rosenthal indicated on “The Athletic Baseball Show” podcast that the 30-year-old’s salary, which likely would have pushed the Yankees into the third tier of the luxury tax threshold depending on who went the other way, might’ve been what ultimately turned New York off.
“How little (the Padres gave up) is in the eye of the beholder, of course,” Rosenthal said. “Now, it wasn’t a massive return, and why? Because Sean Manaea is a one-year guy earning almost $10 million, he’s at 9.75 million. And the Yankees, as much criticism as they take for not spending enough, and in some respects that can be a fair criticism by their fans, their luxury tax payroll right now is at $262 million according to FanGraphs, so that’s approaching the third tier, 270, and they’re going to want to leave room to do some things later in the season.
“Manaea, maybe in their estimation, wasn’t worth that kind of the investment, both in players and in money. … The Yankees, I am sure, will be active at the deadline if they feel their starting pitching is not good enough. One thing that became quickly apparent in the two games I saw this weekend – and of course, we’re taping this before Sunday night baseball on Sunday night – their bullpen even without Zack Britton is quite strong, and it’s impressive to see what they’re rolling out there.
“Now, right now they have a 16-man bullpen, so it’s a little bit deeper than it’s going to be when we get back to the normal roster size. But that is an impressive strength that they have, and if they can figure out their starting pitching, Severino comes back and things settle in a little bit, they’ll be in a good spot there.”
With Steve Cohen throwing cash around like a madman for the New York Mets, it’s fair to criticize the Yankees for not going into another tier of the luxury tax so they could shore up their rotation. But who knows, maybe there is some legitimacy to the idea that the Yankees didn’t want to give up too much of a prospect return for someone who might be a rental.
Either way, the Yankees have to be hoping that not pushing harder for Manaea doesn’t ultimately crush their season.
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