It’s hard to keep up with what the Yankees and their American League East opponents were up to this past week, right before the trade deadline, so here’s a brief rumor and transaction recap regarding all five teams in the American League East.
NEW YORK YANKEES
— The main name the Yankees were linked to this last month was Johnny Cueto, even going as far as scouting one of his starts while he was with the Reds. In the end, the Yankees missed out when the Kansas City Royals swapped their young postseason hero Brandon Finnegan for him, bolstering their starting rotation.
— The Yankees were also in the Cole Hamels sweepstakes, and while Hamels would have been an ideal arm in the rotation, the Yankees weren’t comfortable swapping Luis Severino or Aaron Judge for him, and declined a trade offer from Phillies GM Ruben Amaro. Hamels eventually was traded to the Texas Rangers, and the Yankees were left with a glaring hole in their rotation.
— The Yankees were also linked to pitchers Mat Latos and Mike Leake, although there was no legitimate interest. Latos was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Leake was traded to the San Francisco Giants.
— The Detroit Tigers announced earlier this week that they were selling despite being 3.5 games out of the second Wild Card hunt. David Price was the latest name that was linked to the Yankees but eventually he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays to help the Jays end their postseason drought at 22 years.
— The Yankees also had a need for a middle infelder and at one point were considering a reunion with Martin Prado. Prado was traded to the Miami Marlins along with David Phelps to acquire Nathan Eovaldi this past offseason, which ended up being a good deal for both sides. While they considered the reunion, they eventually decided not to go this route.
— With the injury to Michael Pineda and the inconsistency of CC Sabathia, the Yankees found themselves in the mix for Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo. While the Yankees were linked to Gallardo, their main focus was the bullpen, simply so they can put Adam Warren back into the starting rotation.
— The Yankees and San Diego Padres were on the phone Thursday night discussing a potential deal for reliever Craig Kimbrel. In addition to Kimbrel, the Yankees had shown interest in Miami Marlins reliever Carter Capps and Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman. However, a deal for Kimbrel couldn’t get done, despite the Yankees agreeing to eat some of Kimbrel’s contract.
— Despite standing pat during the final day of the trade deadline, the Yankees actually did make a move. The Seattle Mariners traded Dustin Ackley to the Yankees in exchange for Ramon Flores and Jose Ramirez. The acquisition of Ackley meant it was the end of the road for Garrett Jones, who was designated for assignment yesterday afternoon.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
— With the Orioles in the Wild Card race, they added offense to their ball club, trading RHP Zach Davies to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for OF Gerardo Parra. The acquisition of Parra allows the Orioles to move Manny Machado down in the order and provide length to their lineup.
— The Orioles also acquired Junior Lake from the Chicago Cubs, trading away starter Tommy Hunter in the two player deal.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
— The Yankees may have had the most rumors, but the Blue Jays made the most deals which proves they’re all-in for an American League division race. The Colorado Rockies traded Troy Tulowitzki and LaTroy Hawkins to the Jays in exchange for Jose Reyes, Miguel Castro, Jeff Hoffman and Jesus Tinoco. Tulowitzki provides power and he joins fellow power-hitters Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion in the lineup.
— One of their transactions solved their need for an ace, with the Detroit Tigers trading David Price to the Jays for Matt Boyd, Daniel Norris and Jairo Labourt. While they have David Price in their rotation, many question whether the Blue Jays will actually be able to compete considering the rest of their rotation has struggled to find consistency.
— On the final day of the trade deadline, the Blue Jays didn’t stop making moves, acquiring Mark Lowe from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Nick Wells, Jacob Brentz and Rob Rasmussen. Lowe and LaTroy Hawkins will provide the Blue Jays with a deeper bullpen.
— Their final move of the afternoon involved them trading away Jimmy Cordero and Alberto Tirado to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Ben Revere.
TAMPA BAY RAYS
— The Rays had been extremely quiet on the trade front, but they made two transactions: the first one involved trading David DeJesus to the Los Angeles Angels for RHP Eduar Lopez. The Rays along with the Orioles are considered contenders for the Wild Card position.
— Just two hours before the trade deadline, the Rays sent Kevin Jepsen to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for two minor league pitchers: Chih-Wei Hu and Alexis Tapa.
BOSTON RED SOX
— With the Red Sox obvious sellers at the deadline, they traded Shane Victorino and cash to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for 2B Josh Rutledge. Entering play today, the Red Sox are 13 games back in the American League East.
— And as a last minute move, the Red Sox acquired Ryan Cook from the Oakland Athletics for a player to be named later.