It cannot be lost on general manager Brian Cashman and the organizational hierarchy that the Yankees were shut down for six innings on Sunday by a young power pitcher the Tigers obtained in a rental deal last July only after the Detroit front office yielded to the reality that their team wasn’t good enough to win anything of significance.
The pitcher’s name is Michael Fulmer, the rental property was Yoenis Cespedes, and that provides just one example of the road map the Yankees must follow as this season morphs into the trading season.
The first five games of this homestand that the Yankees swept by scoring 33 runs in defeating the Angels four times and the Tigers on Friday provided an oasis of sorts for the offense-parched Pinstripes.