It's almost impossible to complain about the New York Yankees' unholy 2025 MLB trade deadline haul, which reshaped their depleted bullpen and bench, also providing a defensive whiz, former All-Star and walk-off hero at third base.
Almost impossible.
Because, while the Yankees are leaving nothing to chance with their newfound depth and high-octane bullpen arms, they're still crossing their fingers and hoping a bit that Luis Gil returns and leads the rotation to new heights, while all their other pieces continue producing (and have enough gas to make it to the finish line). They also, true to form, didn't really surrender anything painful in the long-term; Rafael Flores and Jesus Rodriguez are nice depth pieces, and Roc Riggio's bat has exploded recently, but they held onto their top seven and a whole mess of pitching assets. They made shrewd moves, but they didn't splurge, Preller-style.
Given the sheer amount of work they did in reshaping so many of their other units, it was only natural that they decided to hope and pray on one of them. But ... at the same time ... man, it really felt like Brian Cashman was about to cap this whole thing with Sandy Alcantara for a second, didn't it?
The Yankees have asked the Marlins for a package that would include Sandy Alcantara and Anthony Bender.
Yankees nearly traded for Sandy Alcantara at MLB trade deadline ... it felt like
Earlier on Thursday, there was a moment when it seemed that the Marlins were holding a firm line with the Yankees: give us a Spencer Jones-led package, and we'll talk about Alcantara or Edward Cabrera. The Yankees have been extremely hesitant to give up on Jones, especially in recent weeks, but the Bryan Hoch report indicating they were requesting an Alcantara/Anthony Bender package from Miami made it seem like the boulder was budging somewhat.
Did that mean they were relenting on Jones? Or did they send an alternate proposal Miami's way and hope for the best? The Yankees and Alcantara obviously didn't get to the point of physicals or Hug Watch, but there were moments in the afternoon where the traction was mutual.
Instead, Alcantara remained with the Marlins, and will continue to anchor their red-hot rotation, though he won't face the Yankees this weekend. Perhaps the Yankees will get a chance to re-engage this offseason. Maybe Alcantara will build on his two straight earned run-free outings and lower his season ERA (currently still stuck at 6.36 after a horrid start). The time just wasn't right, it seems, though adding Alcantara to Luis Gil's return would've made this extremely busy deadline a level more perfect.
