MLB trade rumors: Yankees’ Brian Cashman feeling heat to make a deadline deal?

The MLB non-waiver trade deadline is July 31, 2018 (7/31/18). Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is shopping for starting pitching, after injuries to Masahiro Tanaka and Jordan Montgomery, plus inconsistencies from Sonny Gray. Cashman and the Yankees are chasing the Boston Red Sox, who own a one-game lead in the American League East.

The Yankees will head into their three-game series this weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre with the second-best record in baseball: 56-28. However the Boston Red Sox own the best record in the majors (59-29), giving them a one-game lead in the American League East.

It seems quite clear that both the Yankees and Red Sox are destined for the playoffs. Which team wins the division could depend on who makes the better moves before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline.

It’s no secret Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is shopping for pitching as he looks to improve upon a team which reached Game 7 of the 2017 ALCS.

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The Athletics’ Jim Bowden, a former MLB GM, took a look at the executives who are feeling the most heat at the trade deadline.

He ranked Orioles GM Dan Duquette number one, which makes sense, since he’s about to deal the best bat on the market in Manny Machado.

Bowden then listed Cashman at No. 2. Here’s why:

On any given day, the GM of the New York Yankees will be under as much pressure as any executive in the game, thanks to the team’s market size and expectations, which always hover around “world championship or bust.” Cashman has done a very solid job over the last several years in developing players like Luis Severino, Aaron Judge and Miguel Andujar, making lopsided trades in the Yankees’ favor that landed such star players like Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Didi Gregorius and Aaron Hicks, and signing free agents like Aroldis Chapman.

The Yankees played to Game 7 of last year’s ALCS before losing to the eventual-champion Houston Astros. Cashman responded by firing skipper Joe Girardi and replacing him with rookie manager Aaron Boone, whose leadership style has quickly gained the respect of players and the front office alike.

However, for the Yankees to win the World Series this year, they have to fill a glaring hole in their starting rotation after their ace Luis Severino. They desperately need a No. 2- type starter, and there just aren’t many on the trade market. The Yankees have expressed interest in both Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndegaard of the crosstown Mets, as well as the Rays’ best two starters in Blake Snell and Chris Archer, but the asking price for any of the four is exorbitant. The Yankees do have the financial resources and farm system talent to overwhelm either club in a major trade, but to get it done, Cashman would have to “lose” the trade in the long run — something he’s not used to doing.

If he ends up trading for a rental starting pitcher like J.A. Happ or Cole Hamels, it might help their chances of winning the division, but it’s questionable if those type of moves would be a real difference-maker in a postseason, when New York would have to go up against the starting rotations of teams like Cleveland or Houston.

Cashman is a future Hall of Fame general manager, and this trade deadline might just cement his place in Cooperstown — especially if he can find a way to land either deGrom or Snell.

Mike Rosenstein may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @rosenstein73. Find NJ.com on Facebook.