Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Chapter 695 31: Make the Yankees Great Again

For the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have an extremely low outfield offensive efficiency, this trade can be said to have hit the nail on the head; even though Martinez's contract expires at the end of this season, the cost is almost negligible, and it won't matter much if Martinez chooses not to renew with the team.

After dropping two bombshells on the trade market in succession, just when the media and fans thought they could finally take a breather, the most shocking and surprising big trade of this season occurred:

With a winning percentage not even halfway through the season and ranking second to last in the division, the Texas Rangers' management, who had high hopes at the start of the season, chose to liquidate the players on the team, putting a large batch of top players on the shelf — among them, the nearly 31-year-old Darvish, who has consistently delivered top performances for several seasons, naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Just before the trade deadline, the biggest favorite to win the championship this season, currently leading the National League in splendid fashion, the Los Angeles Dodgers finally paid the price of a Top 100 rookie plus two add-ons to gain control of this quasi-Cy Young caliber pitcher — for a pitcher whose contract expires at the end of this season, the price is quite hefty.

On paper, the Dodgers' pitching lineup is already robust enough: their starting rotation contributes a combined WAR of 13.0, ranking first in the league, while the bullpen slightly trails the Yankees to rank second — put simply, even without acquiring Darvish, the Dodgers' pitchers are already top-tier in the league; even the strength of their hitters completely crushes the other 14 teams in the National League.

Before acquiring Darvish, the Dodgers had a winning percentage over 70%, and dominated the National League West with a 14-game lead, making it essentially just a matter of time before they advance to the playoffs; even though ace starter Kershaw has been sidelined with an injury recently, he will be able to return before the playoffs.

With Darvish's arrival, the Dodgers' postseason starting rotation is already shaping up: Kershaw, Darvish, Alex Wood, Rich Hill will be the main starting rotation of the team, with a bench of Maeda Kenta, Ryu Hyun-jin, Brandon McCarthy providing backup... Such daunting depth also makes the Dodgers currently the most championship-worthy team in the MLB.

Clearly, the purpose of the Dodgers acquiring Darvish is not merely to win more regular season games that don't matter; their goal was aimed at that October trophy, from which they have been absent for nearly 30 years!

While the attention of the entire nation was drawn to the Dodgers and the partnership with Darvish, on the Yankees side, Cashman also silently completed a few deals targeting the team's current deficiencies:

Trading Top 100 rookie ranked 36th outfielder Blake Rutherford, struggling reliever Tyler Clippard, and two low-ranking rookies, Cashman negotiated with the Chicago White Sox, who were completely rebuilding, bringing back relief pitchers Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson, who performed excellently this season, as well as former star third baseman Todd Frazier.

Tommy Kahnle has played excellently this season, ranking among the best relief pitchers in the entire Major League Baseball, with only slightly less impressive data than elite closers Kimbrel and Kenley Jansen; David Robertson, on the other hand, has maintained multiple seasons of stable, quality relief performance — their arrival has enhanced the Yankees' already rock-solid bullpen, effectively easing pressure for Chapman and Betances.

As for Todd Frazier, even though his performance has declined this season, he is still a quality infielder capable of contributing solid firepower, and with his arrival, the Yankees can move Chase Headley from third base to first base, which indirectly alleviates the shortage at first base.

Regarding the fillable starting pitcher spot, Cashman, after some deliberation, finally decided to make a move: unable to trade farm's top two rookies Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier, the Yankees couldn't get any Big Name, so they targeted small teams in need of rebuilding.

At the very last second of the July 31st trade deadline, Cashman finally completed the trade through fax that delighted him, the New York media, and Yankees fans greatly:

While preserving the two highest-talent players, Cashman packed farm No. 5 rookie shortstop Jorge Mateo, No. 6 rookie right-handed pitcher James Kaprielian, No. 7 rookie left-handed pitcher Justus Sheffield, and No. 9 rookie outfielder Dustin Fowler to Pittsburgh, acquiring from the Pirates their No. 2 starter, the 27-year-old Gerrit Cole, who has control left for two and a half whole seasons, to increase leverage in the team's starting rotation. (Note 1)

"I have been a Yankees fan since childhood, joining the Yankees is my lifelong dream." At the Yankees joining press conference, Cole expressed his thoughts excitedly in front of the media, "If possible, I hope to continue to serve the Yankees for many years to come."

Looking at these new faces after the trade period, Girardi's face also revealed an immensely satisfied smile —

Now, all ready, it's time to make the New York Yankees great again!

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Note 1: In reality, in mid-2017 season, the Yankees used Jorge Mateo, James Kaprielian, and Dustin Fowler to acquire starting ace Sonny Gray from the Oakland Athletics, but Gray's career in the Bronx wasn't entirely successful, even seen as completely failed, only having his second spring later with the Cardinals.

As for Gerrit Cole, in reality, he was traded to the Astros after the end of this season and there grew into the Cole Cy Young we know — the author researched this and made this trade like this; everyone can consider it the butterfly effect caused by Guanglai in this universe, the corresponding chips are also carefully balanced after research.