If you are a fan of the New York Yankees, how are you not excited today? The team came from behind to defeat the crosstown rival New York Mets last night by a score of 6-5. If that isn’t enough, you wake up this morning knowing that general manager Brian Cashman has, in a span of a week, taken a farm system that was average to above average depending on the source, to one that is now the envy around baseball. Yes, boys and girls perhaps the rest of the 2016 season won’t bring much joy to the fanbase. However, this organization is now nicely set up for next year and beyond, assuming at least some of the prospects in the talent-rich system pan out.

To those who insisted that Cashman and company were foolish in trading off four veterans to retool and rebuild, I say embrace the change. This team is .500 and has played that way for the majority of the season. There was no magic potion that was going to turn them into this powerhouse contender. If you get swept by the Tampa Bay Rays (no offense, Rays’ fans) in a series late in the season and look really bad doing it, you are probably not ready to survive the heat of a pennant race. Still, even with the trades, this isn’t a terrible team. The return of Tyler Clippard gives Dellin Betances a legitimate setup man in front of him. While the current relievers obviously can’t match the departed Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman, they will have nights like last night, when they tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings. No Carlos Beltran makes a below average unit worse but that just leaves more opportunities for Ben Gamel and whoever else they decide to bring up in four weeks.

Think about all of the talent the Yankees acquired. Then pair them up with guys they have drafted and signed on their own, players like Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Jorge Mateo and James Kaprielian. These guys are can’t miss-type prospects. Clint Frazier and Gleyber Torres are now ahead of them in the organizational rankings. Frazier is already at AAA and figures to be in New York in 2017, while the same can be said of Judge. Sanchez has already seen Major League time while Mateo, Torres and Kaprielian are still a ways away. If you are old enough to remember, isn’t this how the most recent dynasty was built in the early 1990’s? You know, the “Core Four” that everyone seems to wax nostalgic about these days? Surely, those early-to mid-90’s teams had their share of veterans like Don Mattingly and Paul O’Neill, the latter acquired in a trade prior to the 1992 season. They also supplemented their youth brigade with the signing of players such as Wade Boggs and Jimmy Key and taking the final steps by trading for a David Cone or a John Wetteland. But it was the “Core Four” along with Bernie Williams that sustained the Yankees for such a long time. That’s what prospects do. They contribute by becoming a player for you or for someone else. In the offseason, if they so desire, the Yanks can attempt to package some of these high-end prospects for Chris Sale or a player of his caliber. Even if that type of deal is made, their farm system will still have some big-time players ready in the wings.

The only people who should be disappointed are the players still on the Yankees this year. Guys like Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez who may not be here next year and who will most likely not get a shot at the playoffs in their final year in Pinstripes. As for the others that were traded, think of it as an opportunity for them. The only thing that has eluded Beltran is a World Series title. He gets that shot in Texas; he wasn’t going to, barring some miracle, in New York. As a fan, did you have any special affinity for Chapman? Ivan Nova gets a new life in Pittsburgh. The one that hurts is Miller because he was popular in the clubhouse and he is under contract for the next two seasons. However, that was potentially the biggest return out of the four trades. It’s one that had to be made in order for the Yankees to take the next step forward. It’s all the more reason why as you go about your day today, you feel great as a fan of the New York Yankees.

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The New York Yankees just missed out on sweeping the Houston Astros, one of the teams they are chasing in the playoff hunt, dropping the finale by a score 0f 4-1. After a day off, they continue on this six game road trip with three contests with the Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa also was off on Thursday, having just completed a nine game, three city road trip out west, finishing with a mark of 4-5. The Rays are now 39-61 and in last place in the American League East. They were having a respectable season up until they dropped 22 out of 25 games leading into the All-Star Break. Now, the only talk surrounding them is who are they going to part with at the trading deadline? The Yanks have taken 4 of 6 so far from them this year.

Stat third baseman Evan Longoria, the subject of rumors linking him with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is having a tremendous season. He leads the Rays in just about every offensive category including home runs with 23, which is eighth in all of baseball, along with .340 on-base percentage. Shortstop Brad Miller is having a nice offensive season with 15 home runs and he owns eight hits in last 25 at-bats. Could we be witnessing the final series of Steve Pearce in a Tampa uniform? The veteran has some value as a guy playing multiple positions and is having a solid campaign with a .312 batting average and a .384 OBP in 224 plate appearances. Outfielder Corey Dickerson, acquired in an offseason deal with the Colorado Rockies for reliever Jake McGee, has 14 home runs and has eight hits in his last 28 at-bats. The bottom line is the Rays do have some power as they are tied for tenth in home runs but rank near the bottom in OBP and runs scored.

Right-hander Jake Odorizzi gets the ball in the opener and will oppose Ivan Nova. Odorizzi has been linked with several teams, as have most of Tampa’s starters to teams such as the Texas Rangers. He is 4-5 with a 4.10 ERA in 21 starts with his last one a dominant performance. The 26-year old Odorizzi shut out the Oakland A’s over eight innings but took a no decision when the bullpen blew the lead. On Saturday, Drew Smyly will face Nathan Eovaldi. The 27-year old lefty was one of the prizes when David Price was traded to the Detroit Tigers but he has struggled to the tune of a 2-11 record and a 5.42 ERA in 2016. However, one of those wins was at Yankee Stadium, a game I attended, as he held the Yanks to one run over seven innings in an 8-1 Rays’ victory. The finale will have Tampa’s prized youngster Blake Snell facing Michael Pineda, the guy who was Smyly’s opponent back in April.  The 22-year old lefty is 2-4 with a 3.05 ERA in his first eight Major League starts. Over his last 18 2/3 innings, a span covering three starts, Snell has allowed only four earned runs. He is the only Rays’ starting pitcher who hasn’t come up in trade talks as his team won’t be doing any buying this year.

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No Runs DMC is no more for the New York Yankees. On Monday, the Yanks finally pulled the trigger on a deal that sent one of their Big Three relievers to a new location as Aroldis Chapman was sent to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for four players, one of whom is already a familiar face in New York. Reactions on Twitter indicate that Yanks’ general manager Brian Cashman made an outstanding move in securing four players, including two top prospects for a player who is a free agent at the end of the year. Let’s take a look at each of the players that were traded for Chapman, the four the Yanks sent to the Cincinnati Reds and the four obtained by the Bombers from the Cubs.

New York to Cincinnati

Rookie Davis: This 23-year old right-handed pitcher was the Yanks’ 14th round selection in the 2011 Draft out of Dixon High School in Holly Ridge, North Carolina. His highest level in their farm system was Double A which he reached last year, making six appearances. While with Double A Pensacola in 2016, Davis is 8-3 with a 2.68 ERA in 16 starts. He has good control but is not a high strikeout guy. In 84 innings, Davis has allowed only 22 walks while fanning out 48. Numbers like that indicate a promotion to Triple A should be forthcoming.

Eric Jagielo: New York used its first round selection in 2013 on the Notre Dame product who played his amateur career at third base. The 24-year old Jagielo showed some pop in the system with 18 home runs in two different levels of A ball in 2014. The lefty swinger was off to a great start last season for Double A Trenton, with nine home runs, a .284 batting average and a .347 on-base percentage, resulting in a selection to the Eastern League All-Star Game. However, knee surgery ended his season early and the carryover has shown up in Pensacola. He is hitting only .218 with a .308 OBP in 309 plate appearances.

Tony Renda: The 25-year old second baseman was originally taken by the Washington Nationals in the second round of the 2012 Draft out of Cal University. He came to the Yankees’ organization in June 2015 when the Bombers sent reliever David Carpenter to Washington. Renda received a total of 304 plate appearances for Trenton hitting .270 with a .328 OBP for the Thunder. This year, the right-handed hitter has advanced to Triple A Louisville and has received 79 plate appearances there after starting 2016 in Pensacola. He was hitting .326 with a .369 OBP at the time of his promotion.

Caleb Cotham:  The 28-year old right-hander pitched in 12 games for the Yankees in 2015, giving up seven runs on 14 hits in 9 2/3 innings. He was the Yanks’ fifth round selection in the 2009 Draft out of Vanderbilt and bounced around between starting and relieving during his time in the organization before settling into the bullpen before the 2015 season. Cotham has appeared 23 games for the Reds this year giving up 32 hits and 12 walks in 24 1/3 innings, posting a 7.40 ERA. However, it was a tale of two seasons in those 23 games. He had a 1.34 ERA in his first 11 games but a 12.79 ERA in his last 12. Cotham has been on the disabled list since the end of May with shoulder inflammation.

Chicago to New York

Gleyber Torres: The 19-year old shortstop is said to be the centerpiece of the deal sending Chapman to the Cubs. MLB.com rated him as Chicago’s #1 prospect, #24 overall. He was signed for $1.7 million dollars as an International free agent out of Venezuela in 2103. At age 18, the righ-handed hitting Torres batted .287 with a .346 OBP, driving in 64 runs and stealing 22 bases. This season for Myrtle Beach  of the Carolina League, he has 35 extra-base hits and 62 runs scored in 356 at-bats. He has also stolen 19 bases and possesses a .359 OBP, hitting .275. Torres will head to Tampa of the Florida State League.

Billy McKinney: He was the first round pick of the Oakland A’s in the 2013 Draft from Plano West High School in Plano, Texas and came to the Cubs in the blockbuster deadline deal along with Addison Russell for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. The 21-year old outfielder is ranked #5 in the Cubs’ organization and #75 of the Top 100 prospects by mlb.com. The left-handed hitter has been playing at Double A Tennessee after being promoted there last season. This year, he is hitting .252 with a .355 OBP with 37 runs scored and 31 RBI’s.  McKinney will now head to Trenton where he will most likely finish out the 2016 season.

Adam Warren: In essence, the Yankees traded Warren for himself while also acquiring Starlin Castro. It hasn’t been the best of seasons for the 28-year old right-hander as he sports a 5.91 ERA in 29 games. He was recently sent to Triple A Iowa when the Cubs activated Joe Nathan from the 60-day disabled list. Warren was sent down also to be stretched out in anticipation of the Cubs going to a six-man rotation. It is unclear what role he will have in New York but he figures to work out of the bullpen because of Chapman’s departure.

Rashad Crawford: He was Chicago’s 11th round selection in the 2012 Draft from Mundy Mills High School in Clayton, Georgia. Crawford, a 22-year old outfielder, collected 84 hits, good for a ,255 batting average and a .327 OBP at Myrtle Beach. The left-handed hitter also has some speed with 22 stolen bases in 28 attempts. He also has slugged eight triples, which was tied for first in the Carolina League. Upon being obtained by the organization, Crawford’s next stop is Tampa.

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The last time the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros met, it was a cold three days in New York to open the season. The Yanks took two out of three games and after that both teams proceeded to have tough Aprils. However, while the Yankees can’t seem to put together any kind of sustained momentum with a 50-48 record, Houston has emerged as one of the hottest teams in baseball. They have managed to crawl out of their horrific 7-17 start to their present ten games over .500 at 54-44. They are only 2 1/2 games out first place in the American League West and a half game behind the second Wild Card spot. The Yanks and Astros now meet for three games at Minute Maid Park.

In order for the Yankees to prevail in this series, they need to contain Most Valuable Player candidate Jose Altuve. Houston’s second baseman leads all of Major League Baseball with a .360 batting average, a .426 in-base percentage and 136 hits. His double play partner, shortstop Carlos Correa, is having an outstanding sophomore campaign. He leads the club in RBI’s with 64 and also has 15 home runs. Right fielder George Springer is tops in long balls with 21 and is third in runs driven in with 59. On the flip side, outfielder Colby Rasmus is hitless in his last 26 at-bats. Re-enforcements are on the way for the Astros. Top infield prospect Alex Bregman, the second overall pick in the 2015 Draft and MLB.com’s #18 prospect, has been called up to the big club and will be in the lineup Monday night. Also, the Astros landed the latest star Cuban import, third baseman Yulieski Gourriel with a 5-year, $77.5 million dollar contract. He has been assigned to Houston’s Rookie League squad but the organization expects him to be in the Majors before the end of the season.

Monday night’s starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel is a Yankee killer but he has endured a terrible 2016 season. The lefty is 6-9 with a 4.70 ERA and will oppose Michael Pineda. Doug Fister has been Houston’s most consistent starting pitcher and he will get the ball on Tuesday, opposing C.C. Sabathia. Fister is 10-6 on the year with a 3.42 ERA and is tops among qualified rotation members in just about every important category. Wendesday’s starter is Lance McCullers, Jr. who was dominant in his last outing. He shut the Los Angeles Angels over eight innings, striking out ten.  McCullers has 90 strikeouts in only 70 1/3 innings along with a 3.33 ERA. The ‘Stros have had a revolving door in the closer role. Ken Giles, whom the team obtained for a steep price from the Philadelphia Phillies, flopped in Spring Training and was replaced by Luke Gregerson, the team’s stopper last year. At the beginning of June, Gregerson struggled and was replaced by Will Harris whose dominant first half was rewarded with an All-Star selection. The 32-year old Harris has struck out 42 batters in 41 innings and has walked six while allowing just one home run.

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Despite the New York Yankees’ current four-game winning streak, most observers feel that the club should begin exploring trade possibilities. In fact, there are reports the Yanks have spoken to a couple of teams about potential deals with nothing especially serious developing. The most desirable Yankee commodities of course are the three powerful arms in the bullpen: Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller. With an abundance of relievers and bullpen arms at a premium at this time of the year, general manager Brian Cashman has the luxury of letting teams bid against each other to get what he wants.  Here are four teams that have been mentioned as possible trading partners, all of whom feel that one of these players can catapult them to a World Series.

Chicago Cubs: This is the team that has been mentioned the most with power-hitting Kyle Schwarber being the price tag for either Chapman or Miller. Chicago President Theo Epstein has indicated that Schwarber is off-limits but that could be just posturing. Surely, he wouldn’t surrender him for Chapman, who would be no more than a rental but a package with either Miller or Betances as the centerpiece would be awfully tempting. However, a trade just went down that could cool any talk of a Yanks-Cubs swap. The Cubbies acquired left-handed reliever Mike Montgomery from the Seattle Mariners for two Minor Leaguers. Montgomery owns a solid 2.15 ERA in 61 2/3 innings.

Washington Nationals: The Nats are the other team that has been heavily linked as interested in New York’s bullpen. Scouts from the Bombers’ organization were checking in on the Syracuse Chiefs, Washington’s AAA farm club. Though closer Jonathan Papelbon has done a good job with 19 saves and a 2.73 ERA, any of the Yankee relievers would be an upgrade. However, remember the big stink Papelbon made last year about closing upon being traded to Washington? Miller and Betances wouldn’t have a problem setting up but what if the Yanks send Chapman, who insists on closing, to DC? Think of all the fireworks that would erupt in that clubhouse.

Texas Rangers: Texas needs all sorts of pitching help, not just in the bullpen. They have been linked to a bunch of starting pitchers, namely a couple of names in the Tampa Bay Rays’ rotation but they are also interested, like everyone else, in the Yankees. The prize Cashman would seek would be either infielder Jurickson Profar, finally living up his former status as #1 overall prospect after a series of injuries, or current top prospect Joey Gallo. The Rangers lack a true shutdown option and Chapman, Miller or Betances would slide quite nicely into that role.

Cleveland Indians: What do you get the team with arguably the best starting rotation in baseball? A premier relief pitcher to lock down games. With the injury to Yan Gomes, the Tribe’s attention figures to be split between a catcher and the bullpen. It is my opinion that Cleveland will put all their chips into All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy from the Milwaukee Brewers. That means there won’t be enough to pry away Miller or Betances but may be just enough to lure Chapman.

Remember, all of these scenarios are predicated on the fact that the Yankees have given up on 2016. Based on the last four days, the players haven’t.

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