After seeing four-fifths of his Opening Day rotation get injured before the MLB's All-Star break, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman made no secret of the fact that the Bronx Bombers will look to upgrade their starting five before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
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Cashman, whose Yankees sit at 47-47 after undergoing a makeover this offseason that cost more than $438 million, said that he is definitely looking to stockpile arms at the deadline.
"I have to reinforce our pitching, in my opinion," Cashman told ESPN over the phone on Thursday. "I have things that I feel I have to try to do, that I'm trying to do, but it is easier said than done."
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As baseball un-pauses for the second half Friday, the Yankees still have some hope of making the postseason. New York is in third place in the American League East, five games behind the division-leading Baltimore Orioles and 3.5 games out of the second wild-card spot currently held by the Seattle Mariners.
The Yankees have lost CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova for the season and may be without Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineada until at least August. Tanaka, who is 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA in his first season in the MLB, could potentially be lost to season-ending Tommy John surgery.
New York's second-half rotation currently consists of the up-and-down Hiroki Kuroda, rookie Shane Greene, the decent David Phelps, newcomer Brandon McCarthy and the unproven Chase Whitley.
"We have to try to improve, reinforce and upgrade, certainly," Cashman said. "We certainly we would love to have some significant upgrades but when you lose four out of five starters, it is hard to re-materialize the same type of abilities with the guys you lost. It is whether you incrementally upgrade."
The Yankees have been linked to a couple of Philadelphia Phillies pitchers in Cole Hamels, who is under contract for the next four years, and Cliff Lee, who comes off of the disabled list on Monday and should make two starts prior to the deadline.
Lee, who has a no-trade clause, is making $25 million this year. Lee also has another $25 million coming to him in 2015, while there is a team option for $27 million for 2016 or a $12 million buyout
Cashman swapped Vidal Nuno for McCarthy with the Arizona Diamondbacks while he also called up David Huff to replace Alfredo Aceves.
"Whether it was Huff over Aceves or you significantly upgrade, which we feel like we are trying to do with McCarthy over Nuno," Cashman said. "Those are the attempts. Those are the efforts."
Cashman isn't done yet, as his effort to improve the team will continue into the trade deadline.
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