Yankees.com: Yanks overhaul ‘pen with Bednar, Doval and Bird trades

From Bryan Hoch:

When heavy storms halted play for nearly three hours in the bottom of the fifth inning Thursday afternoon, Giancarlo Stanton said it sparked a clubhouse competition: “Seeing who has the best internet connection.”

That WiFi came in handy. The Trade Deadline clock was on, and the Yankees were busy.

By the time the tarp was dragged across the infield, they had already acquired two relievers, David Bednar from the Pirates and Jake Bird from the Rockies. Then came Camilo Doval, acquired from the Giants just as the Yankees put the finishing touches on a 7-4 victory over the Rays at Yankee Stadium.

Yanks prove ‘they’re never out of a game’ in wild, 11-inning win

Toss in a mid-game swap that saw infielder José Caballero switch dugouts after being dealt from Tampa Bay to New York, and another that prompted manager Aaron Boone to send Oswald Peraza back to the clubhouse after being traded to the Angels. It was chaotic, it was unforgettable, and – most importantly – the Yankees believe they have improved.

“I know we’re better,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “Just keeping it simple, we are better today than we were yesterday. So, mission accomplished there.”

Cashman’s maneuvers reshaped a club that has stumbled since late May, yet now believes it is equipped to repeat as American League champions. Bednar, Bird and Doval address a glaring need: the Yanks entered the day with the AL’s worst bullpen ERA (6.29) since July 1.

The best thing about all of the deals is that the highest-ranked prospects in all of the trades were their #8, #10, and #14 prospects, and two of those prospects were catchers, which is where they need the least amount of help, as they have Wells and Rice already on the roster as young catchers who can hit (well, at least theoretically can hit in Wells’ case), and the third, Roc Riggio, is likely hitting over his head right now while not likely to stick as a middle infielder long term.

And, of course, all three of the relievers are controlled through next season, which was clearly a major concern for Cashman, especially with Weaver and Williams both free agents at the end of this season.

Anyhow, the win was pretty cool. The offense showed up against a good pitcher, but then Marcus Stroman pitched so poorly that he made it an easy call for him to be the guy who got cut when needing to make roster moves. I am sure Stroman will be picked up by another team, and maybe even a rival of the Yankees, but, well, how could we possibly be concerned about that at this point? He’s just not good anymore. Father Time is undefeated in head-to-head matchups.

Featured image is Yerry De Los Santos DESTROYING the Rays in three perfect innings. Nine batters faced, nine batters sat down, and FIVE of them on strikeouts! They might want to consider stretching De Los Santos out as an emergency starter, as he suddenly doesn’t have a role in the current bullpen, and I’ve always noted that he has really good stuff. Just not always good at putting it together, but he sure did in this one. Sadly for him, his great performance got him sent down because of the influx of new relievers.

With Stroman cut, and De Los Santos and Ian Hamilton sent to the minors, the remaining decision is what do you do when Luis Gil is activated on Sunday. Do you send down Brent Headrick, who is the only other lefty in the bullpen, and who has looked rather electric lately, or do you DFA JT Brubaker? I personally would just cut bait on Brubaker at this point, as he has no future here, but since we’re talking back of the bullpen here, I don’t mind the idea of trying to hold on to as many guys as you can, in which case you send Headrick down.