Craig Carton is adamant that the Yankees’ deal that sent Jordan Montgomery to St. Louis for Harrison Bader was meant to be a companion deal, even going so far as to say that he had sources tell him that a deal to send Aaron Hicks (and more) to the Marlins for ace starter Pablo Lopez fell apart at the literal last minute.
He’s often right, but Yankees GM Brian Cashman himself had to tell Craiggy he was wrong.
“Yeah, I can tell you you’re wrong about a companion trade,” Cashman told Carton & Roberts Thursday. “The only imports we were interested in were high-end, and if we imported a replacement to soften the blow of losing Monty, then when you activate Frankie Montas, you have to take some high end guy out of the bullpen.”
Maybe half-wrong, because Lopez is indeed a high-end starter, but here’s the meet in the middle: there are a lot of pundits that believe Montgomery wasn’t going to make a postseason start for the Yankees in an ideal world, and Cashman sort of brought that thought process to light again.
“We look at things through the lens of October,” Cashman said. “There’s pain in trading a solid, every five days starter, but you have to pay a price. We have to get through August, and September when rosters expand, Luis Severino comes back…it’s a little bit of a tightrope there, but it gives better lanes for our manager to drive in October.”
It’s still understandable, however, that it was tough for Montgomery, who was emotional when talking to the media as his farewell – and it was tough for Cashman, too.
“He’s a homegrown guy who has roots here and will always be part of the Yankees family,” Cashman said. “It’s tough for me too, but I have to put the blinders on and do what I think is right. But, yes, telling someone like him that has been developed and had success here is very difficult.”
So all that said, what does Harrison Bader bring to the table when he’s healthy?
“He’s on the IL, but we’re getting access to an elite center field defender,” Cashman said. “He’s an everyday player when healthy, and how we’ll use him comes down to how (Aaron) Boone wants to line things up based on various factors and how things shake out.”
Follow WFAN's afternoon team on Twitter: @CartonRoberts, @EvanRobertsWFAN, @TommyLugauer, and @CMacWFAN
Listen live to WFAN via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker
Follow WFAN on Social Media:
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
