08/03/26 11:16:00
Printable Page
08/03 23:14 CDT GM Brian Cashman says Yankees tried for Rutschman and Skubal
before acquiring Garca and Ramos
GM Brian Cashman says Yankees tried for Rutschman and Skubal before acquiring
Garca and Ramos
By LARRY FLEISHER
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) --- General manager Brian Cashman said the New York Yankees had
conversations with the Detroit Tigers about Tarik Skubal and the Baltimore
Orioles about Adley Rutschman but could not work out a deal before Monday's
trade deadline.
Instead, the Yankees found other ways to bolster their roster. They added
outfielder Heliot Ramos from the last-place San Francisco Giants in a
three-player swap, a day after acquiring left-handed-hitting Luis Garca Jr.
from the Washington Nationals for four pitchers.
Skubal went to the Dodgers on Sunday in a blockbuster trade for three prospects
and Rutschman was sent to the Red Sox for a package that included three of
Boston's top prospects earlier Monday.
"We had many conversation with Baltimore but were unable to obviously meet the
price," Cashman said in a video conference after the trade deadline passed. "So
they did their business elsewhere and we kept grinding through it, but
ultimately in the end of the day, there was no opportunity that existed that we
felt good enough about to be able to push through on."
The Yankees had less of a need for Skubal because their rotation began Monday
with a 3.46 ERA, but their catchers entered the series opener against the
Cardinals hitting .188 with eight homers and 27 RBIs, which ranked 28th among
the 30 big league teams.
"We talked to Detroit," Cashman said. "They set a high price and to be honest
that was not something we were unable to get them off of what they said might
work, but at the same time they were communicating that it also might not even
win the day and then they kind of went silent, I think after they got what they
were looking for."
Garca was in the lineup at first base and batting third after hitting a
career-high .283 in his first season as a full-time first baseman with
Washington. He hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning of a 13-7
loss.
Garca's average is the highest on the Yankees, who began Monday with a .232
average and hitting .219 in 53 games since losing captain Aaron Judge to an
injury two months ago.
"I think it has been one of the keys to how the season has played out so far,"
Garca said Monday through a translator. "Before I used to hit the ball very
well, but a lot of the times it was on the ground. So I think one of the
focuses was to get the ball in the air and keep hitting it with the same
intensity, but lift it up, and better results have come."
Besides the batting average, Garcia also joined the Yankees after hitting a
career-high 23 homers and producing a career-best 78 RBIs. He was third in the
big leagues with a .560 slugging percentage behind new teammate Ben Rice and
Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez while also hitting .330 with runners in scoring
position.
"As good a year as he's having, leading the league in slugging percentage over
there, we think there's more in there potentially in our ballpark," manager
Aaron Boone said. "So it's exciting. We needed to inject a presence in our
order, and we think we've done that in a big way."
Garca appeared in 93 games at first base with the Nationals and will share
time with Rice and Paul Goldschmidt at first and as the designated hitter.
Garca struggled defensively as a second baseman at times before moving over to
first base full-time.
The 26-year-old Garca was born in New York and said his favorite Yankees
growing up were Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano. His father, Luis Garca Sr.,
appeared in eight games with the Tigers in 1999 and spent 10 seasons in the
minor leagues from 1993 to 2002.
The Yankees needed another outfielder after losing Cody Bellinger to a strained
left hamstring July 25, and Ramos batted .264 with nine homers and 34 RBIs in
74 games for the Giants. He also had an .835 OPS against left-handed pitching
and slugged 43 homers in the previous two seasons.
Ramos will likely join the Yankees on Tuesday, and touted shortstop prospect
George Lombard Jr. is expected to be promoted from Triple-A
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Following their loss Monday night, the Yankees optioned
outfielder Jasson Domnguez, shortstop Anthony Volpe and reliever Angel
Chivilli to Triple-A.
The Yankees sent starting pitcher Henry LaLane and infielder Kaeden Kent to the
Giants for Ramos, who is not eligible for free agency until 2030.
"They have a lot of history," Ramos said. "It's obviously going to have a big
place in my heart, but at the end of the day, I'm very happy to be a New York
Yankee."
LaLane was recently promoted to Class A Hudson Valley and was New York's
fifth-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. Kent, the son of recently
inducted Hall of Famer Jeff Kent, was batting .302 this season at Hudson Valley.
New York is 27-27 since Judge last played May 31. The slugger is still awaiting
another scan to determine when he can start baseball activities.
"It's always possible that things don't go the way you want, but we currently
are still very optimistic he's going to return," Cashman said.
The Yankees have been without Giancarlo Stanton since April 24 due to a
strained right calf and lost Bellinger for four to six weeks when he was
injured in Philadelphia.
"One of the first areas of need was to try and upgrade the offense in any way,
shape or form in any way we can while waiting for important players to come
back at the same time off the IL," Cashman said.
To make room for Garca, the Yankees optioned Max Schuemann to Triple-A. New
York also recalled reliever Kervin Castro to take the spot of Yovanny Cruz, who
was sent to Washington for Garca.
___
AP Freelance Reporter Jeff Miller contributed to this report
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
|
