inside the yankees The Yankees’ path forward after a trade deadline letdown By Greg Joyce Published Aug. 7, 2026, 6:20 a.m. ET Luis Garcia Jr. gets high fives in the Yankees dugout after hitting his first home run for the team during a game against the Cardinals on Aug. 3, 2026. Robert Sabo for the NY Post After weeks and months of speculation leading up to it, the trade deadline has come and gone, with many Yankees fans still simmering about it.
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And unless you envisioned a world in which both Yerry De los Santos and Kervin Castro would be in the Yankees bullpen a few days after the deadline, plus Ali Sánchez still backing up Austin Wells, it’s hard to blame them.
For much of the season, the Yankees’ deadline needs appeared clear: a righty-hitting catcher and a high-leverage reliever or two. Then, as Aaron Judge’s absence dragged on (with Cody Bellinger joining him and Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list), it became obvious that the Yankees needed help offensively.
Ultimately, they were able to address the latter — albeit with some imperfect positional fits — while completely missing out on the former, something that will loom over them until they prove it wasn’t a major missed opportunity.
