Why Yankees’ Brian Cashman needs Justus Sheffield in the majors … now

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman loaded up on pitching before the July 31, 2018 (7/31/18) non-waiver deadline, getting Zach Britton from the Baltimore Orioles, J.A. Happ from the Toronto Blue Jays and Lance Lynn from the Minnesota Twins. If Cashman needs another arm, could top pitching prospect Justus Sheffield get the call?

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Yankees general manager Brian Cashman invested in pitching before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, adding depth to the staff by acquiring Baltimore Orioles reliever Zach Britton, Toronto Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ and Minnesota Twins right-hander Lance Lynn.

Given those moves, it’s unlikely Cashman will deal for another pitcher before the August 31st waiver deadline.

But should Cashman need an extra arm, all he has to do is look down on the farm.

MLB.com listed the top 10 prospects who could help contending teams down the stretch.

At the top of that list is Yankees southpaw Justus Sheffield:

Justus Sheffield, LHP, Yankees (No. 27 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list, No. 1 on Yankees’ Top 30)

Trading for J.A. Happ and Lance Lynn at the Deadline didn’t answer all of the Yankees’ rotation questions, nor give them a potential frontline starter for the playoffs. With three quality pitches and no difficulties dealing with Triple-A at age 22, Sheffield might be able to fill both voids.

10 Yankees who could be called up in September

Cashman refused to deal Sheffield before the July trade deadline, and for good reason.

Sheffield has split the season between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

He’s made a total of 19 starts and compiled a 2.19 ERA.

Sheffield was 1-2 with a 2.25 ERA in Trenton. He’s improved on that at Scranton, where he has a 2.16 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 79 innings pitched.

“We’re doing everything we can to try to help him along,” vice president of baseball operations Tim Naehring said before the non-waiver trade deadline. “There’s a plan in place. He knows what it is. Just a matter of stringing innings together that would warrant a call-up.”

Given his numbers this season, Sheffield has little left to prove in the minors. The time could be right for Sheffield to get the call.

Before the All-Star break, New York had the second-best staff ERA in the majors at 3.48.

Since the All-Star break, New York is 16th with a 4.48 ERA, contributing to the Yankees falling as far as 9.5 games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox in the American League East.

(NJ Advance Media’s Brendan Kuty contributed to this report.)

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