NEW YORK -- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke with reporters at Citi Field on Monday, hours after the trade deadline passed and his club had sent right fielder Carlos Beltran to the Rangers and starting pitcher Ivan Nova to the Pirates. Here are 7 takeaways from Cashman: 1.) WANTED TO SELL ALL ALONG: Cashman said he knew what he wanted to do before the deadline passed at 4 p.m. for some time, but that his club losing three straight to the lowly Rays over the weekend pushed team executives, including owner Hal Steinbrenner, to sell. 2.) “EXTREME” RETURN: The Yankees were prepared to keep Beltran, Cashman said. He said that Steinbrenner didn’t approve the deal that jettisoned the 39-year-old, soon-to-be free agent until 2:30 p.m. The Yankees only made the deal because, Cashman said, they got an “extreme’ return. Dillon Tate, a 22-year-old righty, was headliner of the package of prospects they received. Tate was Texas’ No. 4 overall pick last year.
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5 thoughts: Mets, Yankees, deadline 3.) PLAYING THE KIDS: Top prospects Aaron Judge, a right fielder, and Gary Sanchez, a catcher, and former top prospect Tyler Austin were among the leading candidates to help the Yankees fill the hole left by Beltran's absence, Cashman said. That's a huge shift in thinking for the Yankees, a team with a long history of old, veteran lineups. Suffering from a left knee mild PCL sprain and bone bruise for three weeks, Judge is set to come off the disabled list Tuesday, Cashman said. According to MLB.com, Judge is the Yankees' No. 4 overall prospect and Sanchez is No. 5. Ranked by MLB.com as the game's 75th best prospect before the 2013 season, Austin has mashed at Double-A and Triple-A (combined .287 BA, 17 homers and a .914 OPS) and forced his way on the prospect map as a corner outfield and first base option. 4.) FIXING TATE: Cashman called Tate a big-time buy-low candidate. At UC Santa-Barbara, Tate's fastball was in the high-90s and he flashed a plus breaking ball. That stuff lasted until this season, where his fastball velocity has dropped to between 93 mph and 95 mph and he's put up a 5.40 ERA in Low-A. Tate will head to Low-A Charleston for the Yankees, where he'll immediately go into the bullpen. While there, he'll work closely with minor league pitching coordinator Danny Borrell to refine his mechanics, Cashman said. 5.) A-ROD: Nothing has change in regard to Rodriguez's status, the GM said. Recently, Cashman said the Yankees weren't considering cutting the struggling 40-year-old. Rodriguez has been terrible, losing his full-time DH role and turning into a full-time bench player. He's hit .205 with nine homers and 29 RBI in 61 games. He's got a year and $20 million remaining on his deal and there are legitimate questions as to whether the Yankees should eat the rest of his contract and release him if he's going to continue to be unproductive. He certainly doesn't fit into the team's long-term plan of getting younger and more athletic. 6.) HERE COME THE JUDGE? Cashman said Judge has played his way into big-league consideration. If Judge returns from the disabled list and picks up where he left off, Cashamn said, he'll get a shot. Judge was hitting .261 with 16 homers and 54 RBI at Triple-A before his injury.
7.) NO APOLOGIES FOR SELLING: Cashman said the Yankees recognize that they need to look toward the future. They don't need to forget about the present and hope they can surprise some times, but, Cashman said, their history of winning makes becoming sellers all the more permissible. ""We've been contending for a long time, and we're damn proud of that," he said. "That's a hell of a run. That run of contention and being legitimately considered a team that could win a championship on a year-in, year-out basis has gone on for a long time. There's, from my perspective, no shame in anything we've tried to address today."
Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.