NEW YORK — The New York Yankees aimed at the top of the trade market in the days leading up to Monday’s deadline. They missed, and instead ended up with two sluggers who should help their struggling lineup, acquiring first baseman/DH Luis García Jr. from the Washington Nationals and left fielder Heliot Ramos from the San Francisco Giants.

But when the Yankees did aim high, the names came in bold letters: lefty ace Tarik Skubal and catcher Adley Rutschman. The Detroit Tigers ultimately traded Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a blockbuster deal. Rutschman went from the Baltimore Orioles to the Boston Red Sox in a deal many viewed as an overpay.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman explained Monday night why his front office didn’t come away with either Skubal or Rutschman before the clock struck 6 p.m. and the deadline passed.

Tigers’ asking price

The Yankees were unwilling to give up their top overall prospect — shortstop George Lombard Jr. — in any potential deal for Skubal, Cashman said. But that didn’t stop Detroit from asking.

Cashman didn’t say specifically that the Tigers wanted the 21-year-old, but it was clear to whom he was alluding.

“They did have some asks our way that we were unwilling to do,” Cashman said. “But it was a very specific ask and a certain player — and a player we weren’t willing to play with in that arena despite Tarik Skubal, despite how good of a pitcher he is.”

It’s long been speculated that if the Yankees had an untouchable prospect entering the deadline, it was Lombard, their 2022 first-round pick. Lombard is considered defensively ready for the majors, and he’s capable of also playing second base and third base.

He has hit well at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (.268/.405/.440, .845 OPS in 56 games), though there still seem to be questions about whether he’s ready to hit in the major leagues.

Skubal — the back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner — will be under team control the rest of the season. He will become a free agent this winter.

“It’s another two months to go plus the postseason,” Cashman said, “and that made it more difficult to be comfortable for us giving up the ask that was going to go their way despite how great he was. Clearly, pitching is a strength of ours, and our needs were in different categories. But because of how great he is, we definitely made our phone calls and I talked to (president of baseball operations Scott Harris) several times about it.

Striking out on Rutschman

Cashman said the Yankees had “many conversations” with the Orioles before they traded Rutschman, who was probably the best catcher dealt before the deadline. Rutschman (left wrist inflammation) is on the injured list, but he’s considered a strong defender and he has a .764 OPS in 67 games.

“Couldn’t meet the price,” Cashman said while discussing his talks with Baltimore.

Cashman didn’t offer specifics on their talks but said that “there was no opportunity that existed for us that we felt good enough about to be able to push through on.”

Ultimately, the Yankees didn’t land a catcher. They will go the rest of the season with the underperforming Austin Wells and Ali Sánchez, though they could also go back to J.C. Escarra, who is at Triple A.

Of course, they weren’t the only ones who sought a catcher and wound up empty-handed. The Yankees and many other teams tried to pry Hunter Goodman from the Colorado Rockies and Ryan Jeffers from the Minnesota Twins, but neither player was traded. Ditto for the Cincinnati Reds’ Tyler Stephenson.

“We grinded through the market in catching,” Cashman said. “We do believe that we have quality catching, but obviously, the offensive side, which has been a struggle for our team overall — not just at the catching position — made us certainly shop in that aisle. But it was a very thin market of opportunity.”

The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline.

The final hours of the MLB Trade Deadline saw a multitude of deals as teams jockeyed for talent before the stretch drive. Here’s a look at four trades involving big-league players and some intriguing prospects.

Trade No. 1: Cleveland Guardians acquire LHP Foster Griffin from the Washington Nationals in exchange for LHP Will Dion, LHP Josh Hartle, RHP Kendeglys Virguez and OF Nick Mitchell

Foster Griffin has been unbelievable in his return from NPB, making him one of the best (if slightly undertold) stories of the 2026 season. Even though he’s a rental, I’m surprised all the Nats got was a package of fringe guys, with lefty Josh Hartle (No. 18) the top-ranked prospect heading back from Cleveland.

Griffin should be the favorite pitcher of every fan complaining about how all anyone does now is try to throw 98 with huge spin. He’s a cutter/sweeper/changeup guy now, having reinvented himself in three years in Japan, and Statcast has him throwing seven different pitches this year. He lives on the edges of the zone with everything but the cutter and four-seamer, and doesn’t walk anyone, with a 5.7 percent walk rate this year that’s lower than anything he posted in the minors. My colleague Tyler Kepner has been raving all afternoon in Slack about how much Griffin understands the craft of pitching, and it just makes me like him more. (Griffin, not Tyler. Jury’s still out on that guy.)

The Guardians’ current rotation has been a rock this year, making every start but one, so this wasn’t a clear need. Still, Griffin is an upgrade over Slade Cecconi and would slot into the playoff rotation ahead of Joey Cantillo.

Hartle is a polished lefty with a 55 changeup and an average slider, but he sits 90-92 mph with a fringy cutter and neither pitch misses bats. The formula can work if either of the first two pitches becomes a real out pitch, and if he can be a plus control guy, which he was as a sophomore at Wake Forest but really hasn’t been since. He’s walked 9.2 percent of batters this year, and probably would need to cut that by a third or more to be a big-league starter — kind of the way Griffin has become a plus control guy with his own marginal velocity.

Will Dion is a lefty reliever with a plus changeup, sitting 90-91 with below-average breaking stuff. He has faced 35 left-handed batters in the minors this year, and they have hit .469/.514/.750 against him. He was actually better against lefties in the majors, but it’s still not good.

Right-hander Kendeglys Virguez is a straight reliever who’s up to 100 with a slider that’s at least a 60; lefties have destroyed him this year, including a .434 OBP. Nick Mitchell is a slap-hitting outfielder who doesn’t chase or whiff much but has no power and puts the ball on the ground a ton. It’s a handsy swing, and he doesn’t rotate his hips well to try to get something from his lower half. He’s hitting .240/.358/.360 in Double A this year as a 22-year-old.

It just doesn’t add up to much for me; it’s hard to see any of these guys becoming more than a replacement-level big leaguer, although I could at least sketch out a scenario where that happens for Hartle. I was all in favor of the Nats trading Griffin on the assumption that they’d get more than this in return.

Trade No. 2: San Diego Padres acquire RHP Casey Mize and IF Gage Workman from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for LHPs Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf

Right-hander Casey Mize has finally fulfilled the potential that made him the No. 1 overall pick back in 2018; he missed most of 2022 due to Tommy John surgery, took a big step forward in 2025, and this year has shown plus control and command of a three-pitch mix where all three are above-average weapons. His calling card in college was a splitter, and he still throws one, although it’s not as filthy as it was at Auburn. He had a ton of trouble with it last year, while this year he’s getting more glove-side run to it and dropping some further below the zone. He might be the Padres’ best starter now, and with Michael King and Robbie Ray, they have a viable front three to compete in any playoff series if they get there. They also get Gage Workman, a plus runner who can move around the infield, lacking the bat to be more than a quadruple-A player.

Lefty Kash Mayfield was the Padres’ first-round pick in 2024 out of an Alabama high school but hasn’t had the same velocity in pro ball that he did as an amateur. He was up to 98 in his draft year, but is more 90-94 now, with a plus changeup and below-average breaking ball. He’s already 21, and has a 3.54 ERA in High A, averaging less than four innings a start while striking out 29 percent of hitters.

Lefty Jackson Wolf made one start in the majors in 2023, and has spent most of the past three years pitching in the hitter-friendly park of El Paso, with a 6.48 ERA at that level in his career. He’s a kitchen-sink guy with below-average velocity, probably an up-and-down guy, but I would certainly like to see what he could do pitching in a normal environment rather than in the elevated parks of the PCL.

Heliot Ramos hit nine homers with a .728 OPS in 74 games with the Giants this season. (Denny Medley / Imagn Images)

Trade No. 3: New York Yankees acquire Heliot Ramos from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for IF Kaeden Kent and LHP Henry Lalane

Heliot Ramos was an All-Star in 2023, when he broke through in his third stint in the majors, hitting 22 homers with a .269/.322/.469 line, but the little signs that he would have trouble making contact were telling us something and he has regressed each of the past two years. He’s also turned out to be a pretty poor defensive outfielder, which is the most surprising part of his rapid rise and fall. What he can do, however, is hit for power against lefties, and the Yankees have room for that given how their outfield and DH spots typically go to left-handed batters. He’s under team control through 2029 and will be arbitration-eligible this winter under the current rules.

Lefty Henry Lalane was Rule 5-eligible this December but went undrafted, as he barely pitched last year after returning from a shoulder injury and was sitting more 90-91. He’s sitting 93-96 again, touching 98, with a plus slider and above-average changeup. He’s 6-foot-7, and his extension can get up to 7.4 feet, but the delivery is still extremely inconsistent; he’s very gangly and looks like he’s still finding his coordination on the mound. To his credit, he hasn’t walked many guys at all when healthy, with an 8.4 percent walk rate this year between Low A and High A. He could be an above-average starter if he gets to consistent mechanics, especially if he finishes better out front so the four-seamer can play up to its velocity.

The Yankees also get Kaeden Kent, son of Jeff Kent, who is having a solid full-season debut in High A (.302/.359/.433) and looks like a future utility infielder. Needless to say, I think this is a pretty good return for the Giants given Ramos’ limitations.

Trade No. 4: Arizona Diamondbacks acquire OF Lars Nootbaar from the St. Louis Cardinals for RHP Daniel Eagen, LHP Sandro Santana and a player to be named later

Outfielder Lars Nootbaar has been a big stathead favorite for a while, but he hasn’t converted his strong batted-ball data into consistent power or enough other production to be an everyday player, especially with his wide platoon splits. He’s an upgrade over recently-signed Max Kepler, who’s also a left-handed hitter but hasn’t been productive at the plate since 2023.

Right-hander Daniel Eagen has had two problems this year: Lefties hit him hard, and he’s made half his starts at Amarillo, where the ball flies out to center. He’s 92-94 with a hammer breaking ball, however, and could be a good big-league reliever with no adjustments. Given the way the Cardinals develop pitching now, however, I would bet the house he’ll show up later this year or next spring with a kick-change, split or something else to try to give him the third pitch he’ll need to be a back-end starter.

Lefty Sandro Santana is already in the bullpen, pitching quite well so far in 15 innings for Amarillo. Left-handed batters are 8-for-64 off him with no extra-base hits, and he’s struck out 42.4 percent of them so far. He’s fastball/slider from a low three-quarters slot, up to 98, with nothing for righties, and I don’t think adding a pitch will be as simple with that slot or his “everything hard” approach. Lefty specialists aren’t a thing anymore, but that’s what he is right now. Anything to help him keep right-handers in check would make him a big leaguer.

The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline.

Giants get: SS Kaeden Kent, LHP Henry Lalane

Yankees get: OF Heliot Ramos

Yankees need offense, and so they pay what they have to

Giants: A-
Yankees: C

Heliot Ramos can be a bit of a frustrating player. When he hits the ball, he hits it hard, with expected outcomes that exceed the majority of big league players.

The issue is that he doesn’t hit it often enough. The 26-year-old outfielder strikes out too much, hardly walks and isn’t a great defender. But the Yankees need offense. They rank in the bottom half of baseball in OPS and hits, and are outside the top 10 in runs scored. Their current lineup is missing Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger.

The Yankees are giving up two of their top 13 prospects, including 22-year-old lefty pitcher Henry Lalane and Kaeden Kent, son of recent Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Kent. That’s a steep price for Ramos, who has posted just 3.6 career WAR since first getting called up in 2022.

There is immense pressure in New York on general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone, who have largely led the Yankees to success, but not at the level required to avoid severe scrutiny. This feels like almost too steep a price for Ramos, who won’t be a free agent until 2030.

But the Yankees are doing what they can to complement a very good rotation and give themselves a shot at winning the American League East, and ultimately make a deep postseason run. — Sam Blum

Yankees get a bit more balanced with Ramos addition

Giants: A-
Yankees: B 

In Ramos, the lefty-heavy Yankees get a right-handed hitter who’s a proven threat against lefties. Ramos, who turns 27 next month, has a .279/.345/.501 career slash line against lefties.

He’s played all three outfield positions, though the vast majority of his games have been in left field. An All-Star in 2024, Ramos is not eligible for free agency until after the 2029 season.

Ramos — whose first name is pronounced “Elliott” — has his flaws; he strikes out a lot and his on-base percentage is just .304 this season. But he should get plenty of playing time with outfielders Judge and Bellinger on the injured list, and when (if) the Yankees are fully healthy, Boone should be able to deploy him more selectively, as a thumper against lefties.

Ramos missed six weeks with a quad strain, but he’s played regularly since returning at the end of June.

In Lalane, the Giants get a 22-year-old, Bronx-born lefty (with a really cool name) and some very nice stats this season: a 2.77 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 78 innings at two A-ball levels.

They also get Jeff Kent’s son, Kaeden, a third-round pick from Texas A&M in 2025 and a lefty hitter who’s had a very good season in his second visit to high-Class A Hudson Valley this season.

That’s a very strong return for a player with limited upside like Ramos. But the Yankees definitely needed him, so they were willing to pay the price. — Tyler Kepner