The New York Yankeeswere quite aggressive in their pursuit of stars during the MLB trade deadline. They landed a couple of lefty sluggers in Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo, as well as Andrew Heaney to try and solve their issues in the rotation.
But, as it's happened with the Yankees lately, it seems like solving a problem just creates another for them. Instead of trying to land Trevor Story, they had to send Luke Voit to the bench despite being one of the best players on the team in recent years.
That's why it's kind of strange to see General Manager Brian Cashman - the same guy who traded with the Chicago Cubs for Rizzo - say that the team is being unfair to Voit by demoting him to a bench role.
Brian Cashman Says Yankees Are Being Unfair To Luke Voit
“He’s kind of like the NFL starting quarterback where he goes down early in the year, but by the time he gets back the position is now gone,” the General Manager said during an interview for Sirius/XM's MLB Network Radio.
“Luke Voit has been out all year with injuries,” Cashman said. “He’s unfortunately caught up in our obvious attempt to upgrade this roster and it’s unfair to him, but I was staring a decision of do I wait until he knocks the rust off or take the opportunity that’s in front of me acquiring Rizzo that really fits us?”
Cashman Says Injuries Took A Toll On Voit
“Obviously, the injuries have taken its toll this year and thankfully he’s healthy,” the executive added. “We all know what Luke Voit is capable of as a hitter. He’s a masher. He’s on base with power. Obviously he was the home run champion in the American League last year and has impacted us in such a positive way for so many times."
“This guy obviously can help us. The lane that used to be so obvious currently isn’t there, so obviously we are a lot deeper with everything we have. We have more choices, more protection because of it, but unfortunately right now he’s going to get some at-bats and do what he does best (in rehab games), which is crush it, and then we’ll see how he’s going to fit as we move forward," he concluded.
Voit has spent plenty of time on the shelf this season due to multiple injuries but it's not like he was the issue with the Yankees. Obviously, adding a star like Rizzo is always exciting for fans, but maybe that wasn't what the team needed to make the postseason. Or maybe they should've tried to trade Voit as well.
