Yankees general manager Brian Cashman came away from Wednesday’s trade deadline empty-handed.
There was no last-minute surprise, like Houston pulled with Zack Greinke, or an early move, as Cincinnati made to get Trevor Bauer on Tuesday.
Instead, the Yankees decided to try to win their first title in a decade with the group — and the rotation — they had leading up to the deadline.
“This is a damn good roster and it can compete, we feel, with anybody in the game,’’ Cashman said.
So far, it has.
With Wednesday’s 7-5 win over Arizona in The Bronx, the Yankees maintained their sizeable lead in the AL East, but they also saw one of their main challengers for the AL pennant, the Astros, make significant additions, with Greinke now part of their rotation and Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini joining the bullpen from the Blue Jays.
If the Yankees were disappointed by the turn of events, they didn’t show it.
“I think we’ve got a real good shot,’’ Zack Britton said. “We’ve got to play better than the last few weeks. If guys pitch and hit to their potential and play defense to our potential, we’re better than every team.”
While the Yankees had been linked to numerous pitchers, from the Mets’ Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard, to San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner and Cleveland’s Bauer, Cashman said he never came close to making a deal.
The prices were too high, whether it was the value of prospects, payroll concerns or health risks, according to Cashman.
Perhaps the lack of movement shouldn’t have caught anyone off guard. In his last public comments prior to the deadline, Cashman preached discipline when he spoke last week at Fenway Park and added he would be willing to walk away from any deal if he didn’t like the match.
That came to fruition Wednesday.
“I feel strongly the decisions that were made were for the benefit of the franchise,’’ Cashman said. “We’re in alignment from top to bottom.”
He said again Wednesday that the “rotation was a focus.”
But the only transaction the Yankees made was trading Joe Harvey to Colorado in exchange for minor league lefty Alfredo Garcia, a move that freed up space on the 40-man roster.
“The best play was we did nothing,’’ Cashman said of the inactivity. “And we did nothing for a good reason because we felt everything that was in front of me was really not attainable. … We certainly knocked on all doors.’’
So now the Yankees know what they have and what they are up against the rest of the way.
“The fall-back has always been, we know we have a good club already,’’ Cashman said. “The job is to look under every rock to see if you can add to what we already have and we didn’t get that done. I feel comfortable with walking away from everything that was in front of me.”
Some of that was because of the fact Luis Severino and Dellin Betances continue to make strides in their rehabs from lat injuries that have helped keep them from pitching all season.
Both right-handers should be able to contribute during the stretch run, and Cashman is hopeful Severino has enough time to become a viable part of the rotation.
Without an addition Wednesday, Severino’s ability to return to form is even more important, but like with the rest of what happened leading up to the deadline, Aaron Boone remains confident.
“Nothing changes there,’’ the manager said. “We know we have everything we need to be a championship club. That doesn’t change. We’re ready to roll and move forward.’’