The Yankees surely have one of the best GMs in all of major league baseball, but what are his five best recent acquisitions for New York?
Brian Cashman is undoubtedly one of the best GM’s of all time. He has made countless trades and signings for the Yankees since 1998. The Yankees have never had a season under .500 during his time as GM. He can be seen as a wizard getting great players for almost nothing. Not to mention our rebuild only lasted half a year under him and has put us in prime position to win the world series for years to come.
Let’s look back at Cashman’s top five recent trades:
5. Chad Green
On December 9, 2015, The Yankees traded Justin Wilson to the Tigers in return for Chad Green (and Luis Cessa). At first, no one really knew about Green, but once he matured he became one of the best relievers in the game and one of the best pitchers in the Yankees stacked bullpen. His stats for the past two seasons are nothing short of dominant.
2017: 5-0 1.83 ERA 103k’s in 69ip
2018: 8-3 2.50 ERA 94k’s 75.2ip
4. Giancarlo Stanton
On December 11, 2017. Brian Cashman shocked the Baseball work by acquiring reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton for Starlin Castro, Jose Devers, and Jorge Guzman. A player of Stanton’s stature is not traded often and Cashman came out of nowhere and got him for almost nothing. While early on Stanton struggled getting used to the cold and the pressure in New York, he put a really strong first year in pinstripes.
In 2018, he slashed .266/.343/.509 while hitting 38 home runs and driving in 100 runs. Not to mention almost carrying the team for a while during Judge’s DL stint.
3. Aaron Hicks
On November 11, 2015, The Yankees traded John Ryan Murphy for Aaron Hicks. At first, the trade seemed even as both players seemed to be on the same level as depth players. It wasn’t until the end of the 2018 season did it become clear how great of a player Aaron Hicks became. He has become one of the best center fielders in the game. He hits for power, gets on base and is one great fielder. Last season was Aaron’s breakout year, he slashed .248/.366/.467 while setting career highs in home runs (27) and RBI’s (79)
2. Gleyber Torres
On July 25, 2016, The Yankees during a fire sale traded Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for Rashad Crawford, Billy McKinney, Gleyber Torres, and Adam Warren. The headliner of the deal was Cubs top prospect, and top five prospect in all of baseball at the time, Gleyber Torres. Torres spent about a year and a half in the minors before being called up to the majors on April 21, 2018.
Torres quickly became one of the best rookies in all of baseball and quickly showed the league why he was one of the most talked about prospects. Gleyber Torres finished third in the AL ROY voting by slashing .271/.340/.480, while hitting 24 home runs and driving in 77 runs.
Oh, and by the way, the Yankees resigned Chapman during the 2016 offseason.
1. Didi Gregorius
On December 5, 2014, The Yankees traded Shane Greene for Sir Didi Gregorius. It was not an easy task to replace Derek Jeter who maned Shortstop for 20 years and at first Didi struggled with the Yankees. But since 2017, Didi Gregorius has made a name for himself and is now considered a top five shortstop in all of baseball.
Didi had his best year yet as a Yankee last year slashing .268/.335/.494 and breaking his own Yankee shortstop home run record by hitting 27 bombs and driving in 86 runs. It was Cashman again working his magic and filling in the shoes of a legend.