When it comes to trades, Yankees GM Brian Cashman says deal him in – Baltimore Sun

In a division featuring the unproven Blue Jays at the top and a lot of mediocrity in pursuit, the AL East could very well be decided by which GM makes the shrewdest deal around the July 31 trade deadline.

And on a night when the Yankees continued their domination of the Jays at home, Brian Cashman sounded ready to take that as a challenge, making it clear he won't pin his hopes for improvement on a potential August return for CC Sabathia and/or Michael Pineda.

"They're not here right now so I can't focus on what they may provide then," Cashman said at the Stadium. "The fact that they're down . . . I don't want to wait, if something makes sense."

Jeff Samardzija would make a lot of sense, obviously. The Cubs are making one more run at signing the 29-year-old righthander to a long-term deal, but the sides have been far apart in previous negotiations, and Samardzija on Wednesday reportedly turned down a five-year, $85 million offer.

So odds are the Cubs will try to trade him, and in a season defined largely by parity all around the majors, Samardzija could be the type of difference-maker to separate a team from the pack.

The AL East race, in particular, got a little tighter on Wednesday as the Yankees defeated the Jays 7-3, their 15th straight victory in the Bronx over Toronto going back to 2012. More and more it feels as if the division could come down to whether the Jays, Yankees or Orioles have the wherewithal to trade for Samardzija.

Jeff Samardzija reportedly turns down a five-year, $85 million offer from the Cubs, so the odds are Chicago will try to trade him. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

The Rays are sure to make David Price available as well, as their season has gone south on them, but they'd probably have to be blown away by an offer to trade him within the division. If the Yankees can't make the big-splash deal, one for a veteran pitcher such as the Cubs' Jason Hammel would give them the rotation depth they need.

In any case, Cashman said he was confident the Yankees have the trade chips and all but predicted he will make something happen.

"I feel that we do have the ability to make trades if that's a route we choose," he said. "How we line up with other clubs I don't know, but we definitely have people that are wanted within the industry. Our system has produced and helped us a great deal, in the form of Dellin Betances, Adam Warren, David Phelps, obviously (John Ryan) Murphy. And we have other guys coming."

Perhaps, but executives from other ballclubs don't believe the Yankees have enough high-end pitching prospects to match up with the Cubs, who have plenty of position-player prospects.

Cashman, meanwhile, isn't about to trade Betances, the spectacular rookie reliever. And while scouts are touting low Class-A starter Luis Severino, the Yankees' best prospects are position players, starting with catchers Murphy and Gary Sanchez.

The Rays are sure to make David Price available, as their season has gone south on them. Will the Yankees blow the Rays away with a trade offer? (Chris O'Meara/AP)

They also have something of a wild card in Double-A slugger Peter O'Brien, whose 23 home runs this season have created a buzz. However, while scouts have been wowed by his tape-measure power, they don't think he's agile enough to handle catching in the big leagues, so the Yankees have tried him at other positions, most recently first base, in part to showcase him.

The Yankees desperately need power themselves these days, but scouts say O'Brien, an all-or-nothing slugger, is nowhere near ready for big-league pitching.

Still, Cashman didn't rule out getting a boost offensively from the farm system, mentioning O'Brien and Rob Refsnyder, a second baseman who was recently promoted to Triple-A after hitting .342 — with 30 extra-base hits — for Double-A Trenton.

"People move themselves," Cashman said. "You go back to the Ian Kennedys and Joba Chamberlains in A ball (in 2007, when they both wound up in the Bronx by August). "You never know."

Suffice to say a trade is more likely, even though parity is shrinking the market by keeping most teams with reach of a wild-card berth.

If the Yankees do make a deal, it seems likely it would be for a pitcher, as Cashman indicated a belief that the club's underachieving veterans will hit more.

All in all, the GM avoided questions about whether he is disappointed in the ballclub's performance to this point, but his sense that a deal is needed was evident.

"This team needs to get the guys on the DL back and probably needs me to make some moves as the same time," he said. "We usually make moves every year so I expect to make moves."

Last season a relatively unheralded deal for Alfonso Soriano turned out to be a huge spark, as he re-discovered his long-ball stroke, the one that is again missing.

Does Cashman have a deal like that in his pocket this year? Or perhaps something bigger?

The Yankees' chances of winning the AL East might well depend on it.