The Yankees made a trade yesterday that will not generate headlines. But if Brian Cashman is signaling a direction change, fans can rejoice.
The Yankees made a trade yesterday, acquiring Tim Locastro from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for low-level prospect right-hand pitcher Keegan Curtis.
On the surface and with so many holes to fill, it’s not likely fans will say, “Brian, thank you for putting in a good day’s work.”
At a diminutive 6’1″ 190 lbs, Tim Locastro, with 4 home runs in 200 major league games, does not come anywhere near fitting the mold of players Cashman is typically is interested in.
No, Locastro is a speedster with 31 stolen bases in 34 tries. He can play all three outfield positions with an authenticity that counts only two errors in almost 900 chances in the field.
Locastro will not hit for average (.234 career BA), but he makes up for that with a career .339 on-base percentage, something the Yankees have had trouble doing this year.
Locastro also has a knack for getting himself hit by a pitch (36 times) – and here’s a big one – in his entire five-year career, he’s hit into only three double plays, a number the Yankees exceeded in one game when they hit into four in a loss to the Angels.
Yankees: Is This A One-And-Done Trade?
So, here’s what I’m wondering and hoping. Is this a one-and-done trade by Cashman, or is this a change in direction away from his love affair with the home run, strikeouts, and no speed on the bases guys?
Does it mean, for instance, that Trevor Story places ahead of Joey Gallo, instead of the other way around, as the case has been for Cashman?
Does it also mean the Yankees are looking to combine talent with financially controllable players (Locastro doesn’t reach free agency until 2025), making it easier to control payroll?
Cashman, while most of us would never have thought of Locastro as a trade target, found him, and there are plenty more like him out there.
Yankees: Small Pieces And Big Change
Locastro is a small piece of a puzzle the Yankees have been ignoring for too long. He is not Aaron Judge and destined to be a star on the Yankees team – instead – Locastro is a serviceable major league ballplayer who brings with him a different element to the team, a new “look,” if you will.
Will he change the course of the Yankees’ season? Probably not, but if two or three more like him are added while ridding the team of deadweight like Luke Voit, Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier, et al., then maybe we have something going here.
You Go, Brian, Go, Go, Go
As we’ve said many times before, Brian Cashman is a stubborn man with an oversized ego. Every time he trades a Yankees player he has previously acquired and touted, he exposes himself as having failed.
Cashman can equalize that, however, by bringing in new and younger talent that slowly energizes the “New Look Yankees.”
He gave up nothing for Locastro, and this shows he still has the knack for executing trades in favor of the Yankees.
Forget the blockbuster trade that will saddle the Yankees with another dead contract and player down the road.
Instead, Brian, how about finding us another Scott Brosius, Gio Urshela, Luis Sojo, and Homer Bush…
Here’s What Readers Are Saying…
John Casale He’s not going to sit around and do nothing about this. People who don’t perform will not last here … plain and simple. You just can’t do everything immediately
Mark Walsh Maybe a sign of things to come.
Rick Mazur Imagine that….a major leaguer that gets on base, steals, plays all 3 outfield positions AND has only hit into 3 double plays in his career?!?!? I feel like I went back in time!!
Marcus Coudriet Agree and you write good stuff Author’s Note: Well. I’ll be…
Lindsay Schmitt Agree Nick Lanza Agree
Adam King A healthy Luke Voit is hardly dead weight. It’s easy enough to argue he was impactful as D.J. last year. Granted hitting .195 this campaign isn’t cutting it but he’s also only had about 80 some at bats. He means a hell of a lot more to this lineup than someone considered to be dead weight in my opinion.
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
