COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — As he approaches his favorite time of year, Brian Cashman finds himself in a very unusual position. For the first time in memory, the Yankee GM is flush with trade chips — trade chips not named Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Greg Bird and Jorge Mateo, the four primo prospects Cashman has deemed the future of the organization — and yet has no urgency to do anything with them.
Even Cashman is now conceding that this 2015 Yankee team, as presently constituted and barring an unexpected late wave of injuries, should have no problem winning the underwhelming AL East, where none of the other “contenders” is capable of mounting any sort of challenge.