The internet appeared to be doing a mea culpa when it came to the way Yankees general manager Brian Cashman — or as he’s quickly being dubbed online “CashGod” — has been perceived.
In the span of just under a week, Cashman went out and acquired four players, three of which were picked up on Monday, and addressed the team’s biggest needs in the process without having to surrender much in return.
Frankie Montas is the righty starter that the Yankees desperately needed in the rotation after Luis Severino was lost to an injury and they missed on getting Luis Castillo from Cincinnati. Scott Effross helps shore up the Yankees bullpen by bringing in one of the more dominant relievers in the majors with his unique throwing style.
Lou Trivino gives the Yankees more depth in the pen as well and Andrew Benintendi is the bat that New York needed to help get runners on base.
“It’s exciting. Obviously, an incredible club to join,” Effross said on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. “They’ve got the train rolling. Super honored to call myself a Yankee.”
The more impressive feat is that it came without Cashman having to sacrifice some of his ballclub’s most coveted prospects. And the following day he was able to clear Joe Gallo from the Yankees’ roster in a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The moves on Monday seemed to energize the Yankees later that night as they marched to a 7-2 win over the Mariners to kick off the series opener at Yankee Stadium. Manager Aaron Boone beamed with excitement pregame while discussing some of his new assets and afterward, the players threw around the word excitement quite a bit when discussing the new Bombers.
“You can always improve,” Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said. “I don’t think this team is satisfied with what we’ve done so far. We’ve gotten off to a great start, but we as a team did our part and the front office is doing their part.”
Judge said that it was tough to describe the feeling to see the front office make so many investments into a club that has already played so well this season.
“Kind of getting that backing from the front office knowing that, ‘hey you guys put yourself in a position to be in a good spot going down the stretch and into the postseason and now we’re going to give you a couple pieces,'” Judge explained.
The Yankees have been off to a historic season with the hopes of a World Series championship in the minds of many fans as the calendar flips from July to August. After an offseason where some Yankee fans had questioned some of Cashman’s moves, it seems that there’s been plenty of renewed confidence in his approach, especially after Monday.
Boone will figure out how to deploy his new acquisitions, who will begin to arrive soon. Effross had landed in New York Monday night and Montas and Trivino aren’t too far behind.
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The Yankees skipper has an idea of when Montas will take the hill for the first time in pinstripes, but he wasn’t ready to share the plan just yet with reporters. The new Yankees starter will join the team in St. Louis on Friday after he deals with a family matter, Boone said.
Effross and Trivino were both in the Bronx on Tuesday night and available for Tuesday’s game.
Time will tell if the “CashGod” nickname will stick for the rest of this season, but right now he has earned the adulation for the trade deadline moves that he has made so far.
