New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was unwilling to trade young players Luis Severino, Greg Bird and Aaron Judge before this year's non-waiver deadline. Has his stance shifted since then?
Not really, but rumors may begin to surface after his latest comments.
Cashman told FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal that he's "open to anything" and he's "not afraid" when it comes to discussions with other MLB clubs during the offseason. If you recall, last offseason Cashman traded young pitchers Shane Greene and Manny Banuelos as well as veteran Martin Prado, which was something he hadn't anticipated doing.
However, the Yankees needed a shortstop, some bullpen help and prospects to bolster their farm system last year.
Trading those three players wasn't a pre-meditated plan, but that's what ended up happening after discussions with the Tigers, Diamondbacks, Marlins and Braves further developed.
Cashman has a similar philosophy this offseason.
"I don't anticipate Severino, Bird and Judge being traded -- I don't see that happening," Cashman said. "But I'm open to having dialogue, no matter what. Dialogue is a good thing."
One rival evaluator told Rosenthal that it "sounds like the Yankees are shopping everyone with the exception of Severino." However, it's hard to envision a scenario where Cashman moves Bird and/or Judge because both first baseman Mark Teixeira and right fielder Carlos Beltran will be free agents after 2016, which opens up a spot for both of those youngsters on the MLB roster.
Nonetheless, Cashman's mindset is open. One thing that seems certain is that New York will not pursue high-profile free agents as a number of big contracts are set to come off the books after 2016 and 2017. Rumors have surfaced about the Yankees possibly making a splash in free agency (particularly with a starting pitcher), but they didn't do that last year, and with a rising group of young stars it doesn't seem like they'll take that route this offseason.
"This year we have most of the pieces in place; it's a question of can you improve on the pieces you've got?" Cashman told Erik Boland of Newsday. "Do you use prospects to shore up other areas? Do you trade existing pieces to shore up the roster? Do you mix and match that way?"
We'll just have to wait and see. The general managers meetings take place from Nov. 9-12 in Boca Raton, FL, and that's where a lot of the framework for trade discussions will begin to materialize.
