The Yankees and Mets enter the weekend with an entirely different feel than they did when the week started, and that is due to the aggressiveness of the general managers.
Both teams approached trade deadline week with clear needs, and those needs were mainly addressed, whether it came on the eve of the deadline or right at the buzzer on Thursday afternoon. Both Brian Cashman and David Stearns completely revamped their respective bullpens, and each did some fine tuning on the position player front, all while maintaining their top prospects in the process.
For the first time in years, it feels like both New York teams deserve an A grade for their trade deadline performances.
Let’s start with the Yankees, who many were preparing to shred to bits once 6:00 passed on Thursday. By the afternoon hours, Cashman had done nothing on deadline day, still boasting just the moves for Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario for a team that had clear needs on the pitching staff, particularly the bullpen. Meanwhile, top relief arms were coming off the shelves at high prices, as Mason Miller went to the Padres, Jhoan Duran to the Phillies, while the Mets brought in Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley.
Then, Cashman went to work, and the tone surrounding the longest tenured GM in baseball changed rapidly.
First, Cashman went back to a familiar trading partner in the Pirates, acquiring David Bednar for prospect Rafael Flores and two others, none of which had any clear path to a big-league spot in the next three years. Flores represented another homegrown catcher that the Yanks flipped for legit big-league talent, as they have used the position to acquire the likes of Bednar, Jazz Chisholm, and Juan Soto in the past 18 months. Bednar and his 2.37 ERA represents a legit late-inning arm who has flourished with Pittsburgh this season, and a massive upgrade over the likes of Jonathan Loaisiga and Ian Hamilton (recently sent down). Jake Bird was also brought in from Colorado, and while his numbers have been mainly dreadful over the last month, he has had plenty of success with his curveball, has a track record of success until recently, and seems like a potential Matt Blake makeover candidate. If not, the Yanks gave up little in return, so it was a classic low-risk, potentially high-reward move.
Then came the big swing, the move for Camilo Doval just before the deadline hit. The 2023 All-Star has pitched to a 3.09 ERA this season and boasts legit 100 mph velocity coming out of the back end of the bullpen. Suddenly, the Yankee relief core that was the clear weakness of the team now has a quartet of Bednar, Doval, Devin Williams, and Luke Weaver. In a matter of hours, a weakness became an undeniable strength.
Not to mention both Doval and Bednar are under team control next season, huge for a team with Williams and Weaver hitting free agency this winter.
On the position player side, the Yanks brought in Jose Caballero, a speedy infielder with a strong glove that can represent a much realer form of competition for Anthony Volpe rather than the struggling Oswald Peraza. He also leads the league in steals and can be a pinch runner late in games. McMahon is now in the fold and a clear upgrade over DJ LeMahieu despite his strikeout tendencies, while Rosario is another versatile option off the bench.
That’s at least an A- trade deadline. At least.
The Mets deserve a similar grade. Stearns grabbed a pair of rentals but didn’t part with any of his top-tier prospects to make it happen. Rogers has been one of the most reliable relievers in the game since making his debut, and has pitched to a 1.80 ERA this season. Helsley brings the exact opposite from an arm slot standpoint in comparison to the submariner Rogers, and that contrast will be a big help for a bullpen in need of assistance. Helsley also brings elite velocity and a 3.00 ERA. Not too shabby.
Stearns’ big move of deadline day was to bring in Cedric Mullins from Baltimore, and while the pending free agent is posting the worst batting average of his career, he still brings some lefty pop to the lineup and is an above-average hitter, a clear upgrade from Tyrone Taylor. It’s a marginal upgrade but an upgrade nonetheless, and the clearer path for larger improvements was on the pitching side, and Stearns delivered on that front.
If the Mets are going to win a title, the hitters on their current roster that have struggled of late, like Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor, need to pick it up.
Stearns knows that, so he focused on the major area of need in the bullpen. The Mets, like the Yankees, are undoubtedly better than they were a day ago.
That makes for another A grade. Not a bad day to be a New York baseball fan.