The New York Yankees are one of the biggest brands in professional sports, and they’ll look to capture a 28th World Series banner this year. It’s been somewhat of a dry spell for the Bronx Bombers, who haven’t won a World Series since 2009 and have found themselves in and out of contender status.
Not only are the Yankees owners of the second-best record in baseball at 70-34, but they’ve also been active ahead of the trade deadline, looking to bolster different facets of their club.
The AL East is all but locked up for the Yanks, who currently own a 12-game lead over the second-place Toronto Blue Jays, yet they still felt the need to upgrade their rotation and add depth pieces to their lineup.
Before Tuesday’s deadline, the Yankees made a key addition to the top end of their rotation, acquiring one of the pitchers on the market from the Oakland Athletics, Frankie Montas. Montas was always going to be available at the deadline with the A’s in seller mode, and the Yankees didn’t even pay a significant price or one that would prevent other moves. Montas has a lackluster 4-9 record but an excellent 3.18 ERA, and you can be sure that his win-loss record will improve with the Yankees.
In a rotation that already has Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes, arms that have been in the AL Cy Young picture all year, Montas adds stability and gives them a Game 3 starter. The only genuine concern around the righthander is that he hasn’t performed well in the postseason, but his experience could pay wonders for a rotation that lacks it for the most part.
In addition to Montas, the Yankees also acquired Andrew Benintendi and Lou Trivino. Trivino should help add some stability to the late innings for New York, but some adjustments will be needed because he hasn’t performed as well as last season. The righthander has a 6.47 ERA, but if the Yankees can unlock his stuff again, he’ll make protecting leads much more manageable. Regarding Benintendi, there were questions about which team, if any, in the AL East would try to acquire his services. His vaccination status raised concerns about his ability to play in Toronto. Still, Benintendi has bounced back this season and was a solid piece for Kansas City. He put together a 2.5 WAR while owning a .387 OBP. Those numbers will be an upgrade over what the Yankees had in their lineup, and he adds postseason experience that they were lacking.
After the additions, the Yankees still have the second highest World Series odds on the FanDuel Sportsbook at +340, behind just the Los Angeles Dodgers. With Aaron Judge taking control of the AL MVP race and a rotation that can do postseason damage, the Yankees will be a force to be reckoned with come October.
