The Yankees went shopping for a right-handed bat at the trade deadline and came away with Heliot Ramos. Cleveland took Jo Adell. A few months later, that split looks a whole lot uglier in New York.
The Yankees gave up top-five system prospect Henry Lalane to land Ramos on deadline day after trying to bolster an offense that wanted a right-handed hitter who could punish lefties. But according to the reporting, they had a shot at Adell for the same role at a lower cost just a few days earlier. Whether the Yankees seriously pushed for him or the rumor mill got ahead of itself, the outcome is the same: Adell is now helping drive Cleveland’s postseason run, while New York is watching from home.
Ramos did catch fire late in the regular season after the Yankees kept running into right-handers following the trade. Even so, he was buried once October arrived.
Adell, meanwhile, has turned into a playoff difference-maker. He’s been dropping hard-hit grounders that have played a role in both the ALDS in Chicago and Game 1 of the ALCS at The Trop on Monday night, helping Jose Ramírez cruise around the bases against a Yankees pitching staff that couldn’t crack the code.
That’s where the sting of this one comes from. In hindsight, Adell looks every bit as appealing as Ramos, and maybe more so, especially given the cheaper price tag. The Yankees, though, ended up paying more for the player they ultimately couldn’t trust enough to use in October.
And that’s what makes the whole thing land like a missed layup. New York let the Giants sneak Lalane and Kaeden Kent out of its system in the Ramos deal, then got a player whose big moment - a massive home run off Ranger Suárez - didn’t translate into a meaningful October role. He even didn’t earn playoff pinch-hitting reps against Ian Seymour, which only sharpens the question of what exactly the deadline move was supposed to solve.
As for Adell, Cleveland didn’t need to spend anything close to the Yankees’ package. The Guardians gave up catching prospect Jacob Cozart, a top-20 name in their system, to get him from the Angels.
If the Angels had valued the Yankees’ system in a similar way, maybe the deal would have looked different. But based on the return Cleveland sent, it’s hard to argue New York couldn’t have made something work without paying the heavier price it did for Ramos.
The results back that up. Adell posted a 108 OPS+ and seven homers in the regular season, then kept delivering in October with a clutch three-run double in Game 3 of the ALDS and a hit-and-run that helped seal Game 1 of the ALCS late in Tampa.
So even if the Adell rumor around the Yankees never really had teeth, the bigger truth doesn’t change. New York had two similar outfield answers in front of it.
Cleveland picked the one that fit. The Yankees chose the one that faded out when it mattered most.
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