Yankees explain why they didn’t trade for Tarik Skubal, Adley Rutschman

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.”