A right-handed bat to fill in for Aaron Judge while he is out with a fractured right wrist would have been nice for the Yankees prior to Tuesday’s 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline.
The Yankees, however, believe they can get one in August when players have to clear waivers to be dealt and they also are hoping outfielder Clint Frazier can make it back to help from that side of the plate.
“Kicked tires on a lot of different things. You have to understand the price tag, whatever they are, while Judge and Frazier [are] down. If things stay as they are, what do you pay for that?’’ general manager Brian Cashman said before the Yankees’ 6-3 win over the Orioles on Tuesday night. “We were not able to match up on that. Whether salary trying to fit into our luxury-tax issues, the prospect value [you] have to give up. We made a determination based on those factors … with the optimism of Frazier’s eventual return to play sooner than later and Judge’s eventual return … shortly thereafter. Kicked tires on so many different things.’’
According to Cashman, Frazier hasn’t been diagnosed with a second concussion after suffering one early in spring training. Frazier was injured diving for a ball on July 19 while playing for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“He is dealing with migraine issues,” Cashman said. “He’s been asked about by other clubs. He was asked about at the deadline regardless of being on the DL because obviously if you’re a buyer and you’re looking to invest in the future like we did not too long ago, if you’re gonna do that, he is somebody you should be asking about.
“That did occur during this process. Somebody we value a great deal. He survived this deadline, survived the winter and that’s because we do value him. If not, something would have happened already.’’
According to manager Aaron Boone, Frazier, who is in Tampa, is making progress.
“He had a better day [Monday],’’ Boone said before getting the report on how Tuesday went. “He is still dealing with some symptoms and fogginess. Just trying to get to the bottom of it. Hopefully, if he can get symptom-free and start ramping up the baseball, hopefully it can move quickly.’’
