The New York Yankees have made another trade acquiring Amed Rosario.  They also lost their Captain to the 10 Day IL.  One of these moves is much more impactful than the other.  Let’s break down the latest roster changes. 

First off, the Yankees traded for another infielder after making the move for Ryan McMahon.  This time they traded Clayton Beeter and Browm (yes with an “m”) Martinez to The Nationals for Amed Rosario.  Beeter is a reliever who has not stuck out at all and isn’t someone they will miss, or even notice is gone.  Martinez is a guy I never heard of playing in the Dominican Summer League, a league I never heard of, as an 18-year-old.  He is obviously very young and while I know nothing of the league, he is killing it there.  Like, ridiculously killing it.  He’s only played 18 games but he is hitting .404 with 3 homers, 16 RBIs, 4 doubles and 13 stolen bases.  That’s a lot of production for 18 games.  Now, he is a long, long way away from the Majors and who knows how he will do once he enters a minor league system, but I can see why the Nationals wanted him.  I am also very OK with the Yankees trading him even if he was their 20th rank prospect. He’s just too far away to know if he will ever amount to anything.

As for Rosario, the Yankees get a guy who can play everywhere in the field except first base, center field, and catcher.  They also get a guy who can really hit left-handed pitching.  With the Yankees being very left-handed, that’s an ability of need for them.  He is also a very good pinch hitter.  He is hitting over .400 as a pinch hitter this season and did the same last season.  This will give the Yankees a lot of flexibility going forward.  They can platoon him and McMahon, who struggles against lefties, if they want.  They can use him to pinch hit against lefty relievers late in games, and they can use him to give pretty much anyone a day off against a tough lefty.   The pinch-hitting ability will be very handy come playoff time when matchups become vital.  Rosario is in the last year of a deal making $2mil so he is a rental.  Although, at only $2mil, he could be someone the Yanks look to retain after the season. 

I really like this trade.  They gave nothing up (although we shall see if Martinez becomes something in the future) and got a guy they can really use. This trade and the McMahon trade may not be block busters or world changers but they are big improvements over Perez and Vivas and they make the Yankees better.  Though, they do not address the Yankees biggest need, bullpen arms.  My guess is those moves will come a lot closer to Thursday’s deadline. 

Of course, none if this could matter if Aaron Judge can’t return to the lineup and hit to his usual other worldly abilities.  Judge has been diagnosed with a flexor strain in his right elbow.  Luckily it wasn’t a UCL issue.  Although, flexor strains are commonly precursors to UCL tears and the dreaded Tommy John surgery.  This injury will most likely only keep Judge out of the line up for the requisite 10 days.  However, upon his return he is not going to be able to play the field.  At least not right away.  For a lot of teams this wouldn’t be an issue but for the Yankees, it is.  The issue is Giancarlo Stanton.  Stanton has been great since making his return to the lineup.  Obviously, the Yankees want to have both he and Judge in the lineup as often as possible.  This means the mobility challenged Stanton is going to have to make his return to the outfield if they are both going to play.  This is very far from an ideal situation.  They can probably get away with it in Yankee Stadium by having him play right field and just play deep but I don’t know how it will go on the road.  It also means Boone is going to have to decide when to replace him out there with someone who still has working legs.  And let’s just say decisions aren’t one of Boone’s strengths.  This complicates things in a way the Yankees really did not need this season. 

The one silver lining to the Judge injury is that while he is on the IL there is no longer a log jam in the outfield and Bellinger and The Martian can play every day (along with Trent Grisham).  This is why I am against the idea of calling up Spencer Jones (who is currently out with back spasm anyways) to replace Judge.  If you call him up, you have to play him and that would just get them back to too many outfielders.  With Rosario being Judge’s replacement, he shouldn’t (I say shouldn’t as the Yankees are run by morons who will probably keep the 4-man rotation going) make any starts in the outfield.  I know I am really looking forward to see what playing 10 straight days does for Jasson Dominguez and his confidence. 

So, there is the latest on the Yankees.  The big news is Judge but the trades Cashman is making, while small, are improving the team.  Hopefully he isn’t done dealing yet.  Speaking of which, He also sold Carlos Carrasco to the Braves. They will call it a trade but trading something for money is the definition of selling.