Hour 1: No Moves for the Yankees (Yet)

Summary

Don, Hahn & Rosenberg — Hour 1: No Moves for the Yankees (Yet)

ESPN New York | August 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this engaging hour, Alan Hahn and Peter Rosenberg (with Don La Greca mentioned but not present during the core discussions) dive deep into the Major League Baseball trade deadline, focusing intensely on the New York Yankees’ inaction with less than three hours remaining. Key themes are the Yankees’ lack of big moves, the impact of Aaron Judge’s unclear health status, and the consequences for both the franchise and its fan base as rivals like the Red Sox take bold steps forward. Callers join to vent and speculate, with some humor and classic New York sports angst throughout.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Vacation Recap and Setting the Stage

• Alan returns from vacation and jumps immediately into the tense atmosphere of MLB’s trade deadline.
  • "[It] was just spending as much time with my older kids because... now they're all going in their separate ways... But there is still time left in the Major League Baseball trade deadline." — Alan Hahn (01:17)

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2. The Rushman Trade Rocks the Yankees' Plans

Timestamps: 01:58-02:49, 35:53-37:46

• Breaking News: Baltimore Orioles' star catcher Adley Rushman is sent to the Boston Red Sox, not the Yankees.
  • "He did not go to the Yankees. Jeff Passan reporting that he is heading to the Boston Red Sox." — Alan Hahn (02:24)
• The Red Sox are described as “on a heater” and “a machine,” a direct threat to the Yankees, who do nothing as prospects are shipped up I-95 to a major rival.
• Further detail: Red Sox gave up their #2, #4, #5, and #17 prospects for Rushman:
  • "So they're sending a pitcher who's their number two prospect and he's a top 50 overall... Then their number four... then number five... then number seventeen." — Alan Hahn (36:38)

Memorable Tone:

“They swept the Yankees and haven't looked back ever since. So I'm frustrated by that news.” — Alan Hahn (02:49)

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3. Yankee Inertia and the Waiting Game

Timestamps: 03:50-06:42

• The Yankees’ single acquisition of Luis Garcia Jr. is described as meaningful but not the game-changing move fans want.
  • "That's an actual hottest bat in baseball and they definitely needed to get another bat in that lineup. Now again, it's not the righty bat you're looking for..." — Alan Hahn (04:16)
• Criticism of Brian Cashman for continuous “efforting” and relying on returning injured stars as substitutes for real moves:
  • "You know, the feedback you're going to get from Cashman after 6:00... will be how, you know, we're going to get Bellinger back. You know, we're going to get Radon back. We're going to get, you know, Stanton..." — Alan Hahn (05:52)
  • “It’s just like adding players at the deadline. They’re already players and they’re six weeks after the deadline.” — Peter Rosenberg (06:38)

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4. State of the Yankees: Health, Offense, and the Judge Dilemma

Timestamps: 13:44-19:10, 31:40-32:35

• Aaron Judge’s Health Casts Shadow:
  • With Judge out and little information being disclosed, the question lingers: Are the Yankees stalling on moves because they know more about Judge’s condition than they’re disclosing?
  • "My biggest concern about Judge... I think the Aaron Judge story with the Yankees is one to be very careful with if you're a Yankees fan." — Alan Hahn (14:00)
  • "What's our best case scenario for games this season?" — Peter Rosenberg (16:22)
  • "If he gets back... what version of Judge are you getting?" — Alan Hahn (15:13)
• Offensive Woes:
  • “Here’s what I noticed about the Yankees. When they win, it’s two nothing. When they lose, it’s four two. You know what’s consistent? The two.” — Peter Rosenberg (09:28)
• Postseason worries center on Judge’s ability to contribute after missing so much time, and whether fans will be fair if he struggles:
  • "Are people going to say, well, you gotta give Judge a pass you missed all that time, you know, with the rib. Or is he going to be eviscerated as he failed the Yankees once again in the postseason?" — Alan Hahn (15:15)
  • "The one Judge negative that had kind of gone to bed was the health thing... but now what are we looking at?" — Peter Rosenberg (16:14)

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5. Mets & Bigger League-Wide Questions

Timestamps: 10:16-11:38, 26:07-29:38

• The Mets’ strategy: unloading veterans for prospects to stockpile assets ahead of an uncertain labor landscape.
  • "They are gathering all the prospects they can get... so there might be one or two players that come free on the other side that you would be more than willing to take on, and you'll have more prospects to do it." — Alan Hahn (10:16-11:38)
• Frustration at the trend of “thank you” tweets to departing players with little impact:
  • "They do a thank you tweet, Peter, for a player that was there for like five minutes. Thank you. For what?" — Alan Hahn (26:48)
  • "Do fans really need to see the thank you tweet? You ever... look at the comments on the thank you tweets? They're hilarious." — Alan Hahn (28:34)

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6. Fan Calls & Final Debates

Timestamps: 22:51-44:17

• Caller: Ross (23:38): Suggests Yankees’ lack of moves is tied to knowledge about Judge’s health; hosts strongly agree.
• Caller: Adam (30:10): Proposes Ben Rice could catch in a pinch for a late run if no trade is made; hosts and analyst discuss, but note the organization seems unwilling.
  • "Jack Curry did say that that's not the plan." — Alan Hahn (32:35)
• Detailed Comparison:
  • Hahn and analyst walk through Yankee prospects versus what Boston gave up for Rushman — would New York fans be willing? (36:38-39:27)
• Caller: George (41:09): Argues the Yankees’ lone postseason bright spot was Judge, and not improving at catcher or infield risks repeating past failures.
  • "If Judge comes back, but he can't really get into typical Judge rhythm and in the playoffs, you know, he's just not effective… do you think Yankee fans will give him a pass or will he get criticized even more?" — Alan Hahn (42:17)
  • "Even though he's... one of the greatest hitters to ever walk on this planet, I think he's going to take a lot of criticism and that's just what he signed up for, being on the New York Yankees." — George (Caller, 42:37)
  • "We're a Yankees team. We don't care about the wild card." — George (Caller, 42:17)
  • "Would you be surprised if a week from now you're talking about the third place Yankees?" — Alan Hahn (43:32)
• The hosts agree: right now the Red Sox look far scarier to face in October than the Yankees (44:04).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Yankees’ brand and changing times:
  • “We're so used to the Yankees being the evil empire... But yet they don't act the way we're used to them acting. And that's what's frustrating about a day like today.” — Alan Hahn (20:50)
• On Cashman's prospect hoarding:
  • “The Yankees have, and I should say the Cashman has clung to prospects like they are precious metals.” — Alan Hahn (20:50)
• On the optimism gap:
  • "If you were another team in the AL and you were finding out what your playoff matchup was... would you be more scared at this moment to hear it was the Yankees or the Red Sox? I think you'd be a lot more worried about the Red Sox right now." — Peter Rosenberg (44:04)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Time | |------------------------|------------| | Rushman trade shock | 01:58-02:49, 35:53-37:46 | | Yankees’ non-action & fan frustration | 03:50-06:42, 20:50-21:46 | | Judge’s health & impact| 13:44-16:22, 31:40-32:35 | | Mets' rebuilding debate| 10:16-11:38, 26:07-29:38 | | Fan calls and speculation | 22:51-25:44, 41:09-44:17 | | Red Sox are now the threat | 44:04-44:17 |

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Tone & Takeaways

• Tone: Frustrated, bemused, classic New York blend of fatalism and hope, with an edge of humor and caller engagement.
• The Yankees’ conservative approach and Judge’s impacted season are alienating fans—while Boston’s boldness flips the division's old dynamic on its head.
• Hosts and callers agree: without clarity on Judge and with no big move, this may be another year of “what if” for the Yankees.

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For those who missed it:
You’ll walk away understanding why the Yankees' indecision is the story of the day, how Aaron Judge’s status shapes everything, why the Red Sox’s aggression has shifted the AL East, and why so many in New York are feeling both nostalgia and exasperation at what the franchise has become.

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Notable Quotes For Reference:

• “We're adding players that were already on the roster but haven't played half the end yet.” — Alan Hahn (06:42)
• “They do a thank you tweet... for a player that was there for like five minutes. Thank you. For what?” — Alan Hahn (26:48)
• “You know what’s consistent? The two.” — Peter Rosenberg (09:28)
• "If Judge doesn't perform... I think he's going to take a lot of criticism and that's just what he signed up for, being on the New York Yankees." — George (Caller, 42:37)
• "Would you be more scared... to hear it was the Yankees or the Red Sox? ...more worried about the Red Sox right now." — Peter Rosenberg (44:04)

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End of Hour 1 Summary

Transcript

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[Unidentified Commentator]

Don, this isn't Vietnam.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's Radio Hanh.

[Alan Hahn]

I mean, he had a handful of

[Don Hahn]

twig and berries and Rosenberg.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Everything about it was pure, unadulterated ass. This isn't North Dakota. This is New York.

[Don Hahn]

This is Don, Han and Rosenberg.

[Alan Hahn]

The best threesome I've ever heard on

[Don Hahn]

ESPN New York and streaming live on

[Alan Hahn]

YouTube 301 in the big city with Peter Rosenberg. I'm Alan Hahn. Two weeks off vacation.

[Peter Rosenberg]

How's it feel?

[Alan Hahn]

Felt like it wasn't enough.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, you were starting to get in the groove right when it ended. Yeah, literally people say two weeks and

[Alan Hahn]

when I say groove, I mean that groove in the couch that you find and you just fall into like each day.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You weren't straight home the whole time though, right?

[Alan Hahn]

I was in parts unknown.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Parts. I don't know. One knows that means.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, that's fine. I was, I was here, there and everywhere and more here than there or more. Yeah, more here than there. But it was for me also it was just spending as much time with my older kids because one by one now they're all going in their, their separate ways. So it was, that was the quality time part of it was to make sure that I got as much time with them because the previous three months as you know, for me was just a lot of dad in the city and not home. Yeah, so it was, it was, it was a great time. But yeah, it was certainly not long enough. But there is still time left in the Major League Baseball trade deadline.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Less than three hours.

[Alan Hahn]

That is correct. Six p.m. eastern. And we already have breaking news presented by Boost Mobile. Okay, and that breaking news is that Adley Rushman, you remember the three time all star catcher from your Baltimore Orioles.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Basically the.

[Alan Hahn]

He has been traded.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The consistent star for those of the

[Alan Hahn]

last few years switch hitting catcher certainly would be usable for the Yankees who are looking for someone of his ilk.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He did not go to the Yankees.

[Alan Hahn]

He did not go to the Yankees. Jeff Passon reporting that he is heading to the Boston Red Sox. Yeah, that's, that's a tough one. They're Sending. The Red Sox are sending a bunch of prospects. Rushman will be going to a Red Sox team that feels like they, they just don't lose anymore.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, they're on a heater talking about going for it. They've been, they've been going for it.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. Since June. They really, they swept the Yankees and haven't looked back ever since. So I'm frustrated by that news. But Cashman still has three hours to get the righty, the right hand hitting catcher that he's been searching for. Rushman would have been a nice fit. He has been banged up this year a lot. Maybe there's a risk there, I don't know. But that does feel like why Boston seem to want to go for it. And if you're the Yankees and you're like, look, we don't want him going to Boston. They're, they're on our heels right now. Two games back in the lost column. You would want to make sure they don't get him that you, if you really wanted them. But they stepped aside and let him go up 95 to Boston instead. And so we'll see what the Yankees do as an answer to that. That's breaking news presented by Boost Mobile. Don't overpay. Get unlimited talk, text and data for $25 a month. Forever for life. For real. Switch now@boost mobile.com well, are you feeling

[Peter Rosenberg]

today with what the Yankees have done so far, Are they doing anything to show you they're going for something or is it sort of the half assing it? No, no, we're going for it. We're seeing what's out there. We're efforting, we're having conversations, we're. What's it feeling like?

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, the second part, I mean there's an efforting, there's a we're having conversation. Look, Luis Garcia Jr. Is not. That's not nothing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Alan Hahn]

That's an actual hottest bats in baseball and they definitely needed to get another bat in that lineup. Now again, it's not the righty bat you're looking for, but it does free up some things. Now Goldschmidt doesn't have to play every day because we saw it really start to wear down on him. It's better he was brought in to be a part time player and to be a supporting cash guy. Bring him in for defense later in a game, you know, matchups against righties, all the things that you're looking for. But he wasn't supposed to play every day. This now kind of frees that up and Allows them to be a better balanced lineup. And when they're whole, which of course we'll get to that in a minute, who knows if they ever will be. But when they're whole, then they'll still that. That's another really strong bat. A guy who has really been producing now for the last two months. So I think there's an effort and there's still three hours for Cashmere to make a move. You need a catcher. Clearly, it's what they've been talking about. They have to get one. Rushman would have been an interesting one. Although, again, would you be giving up a lot of prospects for a guy who comes in with the wrist sprain that he'd be coming off, coming back from, but you don't know what condition he's going to be in. I mean, he had all kinds of stuff happen this year. He's been out three times now. He's been out this year with injuries. So were they hesitant to be all in on that feeling like we could still get what we need and not have to give up as much?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Alan Hahn]

That that's what again, that's three hours. But at 6 o' clock, all bets are off, Pete. I mean, all bets are. I'm sorry. You know, David Stearns being bad at his job has helped Brian Cashman kind of skate through this year. The injuries are also the excuse. And I know already the feedback you're going to get from Cashman after 6:00 clock today will be how, you know, we're going to get Bellinger back. You know, we're going to get Radon back. We're going to get, you know, Stanton, he's going to take some swings. Judge coming back, that's like adding players at the deadline. You know, you're going to get that. You know, we've been treading water. We've been fine. We've been hanging in there, getting through it. We got to get through. Our pitching has been great. Our starting pitching has been great.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's just like adding players at the deadline. They're already players and they're six weeks after the deadline.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, that's it. We're adding players that were already on the roster but haven't played half the end yet.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's going to be a month after

[Alan Hahn]

the deadline, but that's what I'll IGN 800 now and 93776 and we'll get to the Mets. But I don't know how much they really deserve your attention. But I just feel like the Yankee thing comes back to this. Are they really banking on getting healthy at the right time, which is the only time that matters in Yankee land? Is that really all this is going to be if there is not anything more done here? At the deadline, they flirted with the idea of Mason Miller. That was fun for a minute, but you had a feeling that that was going to be a big reach, going to cost a lot. And Bednar's been. He's been fine. He actually been better of late. What you really need is still maybe one set about like the Mets have Luke Weaver on the table. I don't know why you're not trying to get him. Why wouldn't you want to bring him back so that, you know, like that's something to look at. But the catching situation, as we know, bottom of the order, as we know, those are things you've got to watch.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And now some borderline breaking news presented by Boost Mobile. Even more, apparently your and my Pittsburgh Pirates.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Are closing in to a deal with Luke Weaver. Yeah, that's right.

[Alan Hahn]

Weaver's going there.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's the conversation.

[Alan Hahn]

How about the Pirates, by the way? Normally not buyers, but they also are probably thinking about what's coming on the other side of collective bargaining.

[Peter Rosenberg]

How far are they out of the wild card?

[Alan Hahn]

Right in it?

[Peter Rosenberg]

They are three and a half out

[Alan Hahn]

of the wild card right there.

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right, close enough. If you don't, if you're not going to have a season next year, I know you got it. You got to give it a shot.

[Alan Hahn]

Also, if you are going to be building towards something going forward, that's also something that they need to start doing that because, you know, they are among the franchises that the owners are going to look at and say they not only are we getting the cap, we're getting a floor and your ass better be over it. Right. Like, you can't operate now at a shoestring budget. Just keep throwing your hands up, selling off all your prospects every year because you don't want to pay anybody. That's got to stop. And with a guy like Paul Skeens, it better stop soon because you don't want to lose a guy like him. But I don't know what the Yankee plan is because all we're seeing is a Luis Garcia move. That was one of those like, okay, it's a bat. It's not really a need, but it's still a bat that gives them options. Well, it's a need right now because of the injuries.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I was gonna say they score two runs a game.

[Alan Hahn]

That's right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Every Single game they have, I think

[Alan Hahn]

it's since June 1st. They've been scoring since. Since Judge went out, they've been averaging less than four runs a game.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Here's what I noticed about the Yankees. When they win, it's two nothing. When they lose, it's four, two. You know what's consistent? The two.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's like. It's two to three runs. By the way, it's official. Weaver to Pittsburgh. That is breaking news presented by Boost Mobile. Don't overpay. Get unlimited talk, text and data for $25 a month. Forever. For life. For real. Switch now@boost mobile.com wow.

[Alan Hahn]

Okay, so Weaver, another player that could have.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Now that was. That would have been a nice little something.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. But for the Mets, they just keep breaking it up. See, Weaver's a guy, too. From the Mets side. Did you have to move him unless they got some good prospects? Well, that's theory on what the Mets

[Peter Rosenberg]

are doing, and that is always like a. On a broader, like, level, I always wonder, you want to start over again? Do you need to get rid of everyone? Like, if you're not getting good stuff back, you might want to have a few good players on the team.

[Alan Hahn]

All right, I got a theory. Okay. Just quick sidebar. On the Mets theory is this. They are gathering all the prospects they can get.

[Caller]

Okay?

[Alan Hahn]

All the little pieces they can get. Because they know on the other side of a new collective bargaining agreement, there's probably going to be teams that have to dump players, get rid of contract, and you want to have as much quote, unquote cash, if you know what I mean. Like, if they. They want to have the assets that they could use to acquire players. And that's what you do right now. You get as many prospects as you can, build it up so that, you know, there might be one or two players that come free on the other side that you would be more than willing to take on, and you'll have more prospects to do it. All right, so if they. If again, I don't think they gave Weaver away. I don't know what the. The deal is exactly. But if they get two quality prospects, those are all assets that they will use to rebuild the team. On the other side. Question is, do you really trust David Stearns to be that guy to rebuild the team? Cohen says yes, but we'll see.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, and if they're doing what you're saying, Alan, that means not only is Stern's the guy, but he's the one collecting the money for the groceries that he may not buy for two years. This could be a long. You're talking about a long term play.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. This is not like, you know, they're going to rebuild in December. We don't know when they're going to have baseball. We don't know when it's going to happen. Which again brings us back to the Yankees. When you don't know that, what do you do? Do you go for it or do you say Judge is compromised? We have no idea what he's going to be. Why would we give up a lot of pieces, prospects that we need in 2027, in 2028. Why would we do that and go for it a year? Like if Judge was healthy, I think they, maybe they'd be more aggressive. Maybe they would go for Rushman at that point, thinking, we're going to load up and go after the Dodgers. We know we can take the American League, but the Red Sox are the team that is looking at it this year and saying, we are on such a heater right now. Dom would call it a toot that they're on such a run right now that you've got to invest in this because tomorrow's not promised. You have no idea what the league is going to look like on the other side. So the Red Sox can look at it as our fortunes turn. Suddenly Alex Cora was fired. Everybody thought that whole thing was gonna come crashing down. It did not. So they have a different attitude because of the way things went for them. They got healthy and they started winning at a high rate. And now they are a machine. They just swept the Dodgers. So is the Judge injury sort of hanging over this franchise as a warning of guys like, without him, we can't really be a go for it team. We'll compete, but we can't be a go for a team. Is that the right attitude to have?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Because of his, you can't say if it's right or wrong. There are a lot of people out there would say, if you look around, you could think this is as good a shot as they'll have even without Judge. Just because of what the AL is right now.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So it's in the eye of the beholder. Yeah, I know it's. I know that's not the answer anyone wants, but we really. You can't be sure. The weirdest part to me is, and you were talking about this before you got in the air, and I think with a good reason. The story here is what is up

[Alan Hahn]

with Judge that is like, it was

[Peter Rosenberg]

right after the All Star break that they Said, hey, we checked him out. We're going to check again shortly. Well, we're now in August, so are we checking again? What's going on?

[Alan Hahn]

And we heard middle of August might be the next time we check in.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But if we're not checking in, then it's obviously more serious than.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, they have to, they have to let it rest. We've heard the little things. We've heard chips and drabs about it, right? We've heard, we've heard it's feeling better. Look, the good news is he's around the team, but you don't know anything. My biggest concern about Judge, and I said this two weeks ago before I left, and I'll keep saying it because I think it's true. I think the Aaron Judge story with the Yankees is one to be very careful with if you're a Yankees fan. Because the Yankees are going to be at worst a wild card team, right? Pretty much. That's what you can expect. They're gonna be a wild card team. They have the pitching to be really competitive, I think. Look, what you're seeing from Garrett Cole is an ace bulldog. Love it. Right, Freed, I mean, Schlitler, you've got three guys right now. Now, Radon might, you know, return and be a nice fourth piece, but they've got three guys right now that are absolute killers and I love it. And that gives you a reason to believe you could be a team that could play for a championship. And all you're saying is if we can get this lineup healthy, it could be a dangerous lineup. Because when healthy, I'm talking about Stanton, I'm talking about Judge along with Bellinger, along with now they added Garcia, who's a terrific bat with Rice. You know, Jazz, when he's right, hasn't been right all the time, but when he's right, Caballero, tough on the base path. Like you've got guys that you could be a good offense when healthy. The problem is when they get healthy. What version of Judge are you getting? Because we know what's going to happen with this pitching staff. You could be in these two, two to one games, one nothing games. Judge the plate and he's going over three with a walk and three strikeouts because he came back in mid September and he only had two weeks to get himself into rhythm to see pitches. He's not playing the outfield, so all he can do is DH and he doesn't come through and you lose in the playoffs. Are people going to say, well, you got to give Judge a pass you missed all that time, you know, with the rib. Or is he going to eviscerated as he failed the Yankees once again in the postseason? What's the narrative going to be?

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's right. It's a really.

[Alan Hahn]

And which is fair.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's in the other sort of sneaky storyline here is. Is the one Judge negative that had kind of gone to bed was the health thing.

[Alan Hahn]

Right?

[Peter Rosenberg]

That was like. That was such an early Judge conversation that faded. It was like, well, he's always good. He plays 140 games. You're. But now what are we looking at? What's our best case scenario for games this season?

[Alan Hahn]

I don't know. No, it could end up being like

[Peter Rosenberg]

half the season, 90 games.

[Alan Hahn]

You got to understand. It's when he gets back. You just brought it up. We're in August now. There's no word. So it doesn't mean all of a sudden he's just going to jump into the. To the lineup in the middle of the. Of the month. He's going to need ramp up. He's going to need all this extra time. Are they even going to dare to put him in the field? Because that's how he got it hurt, right? Diving for the ball. Do you put him in the field because you know he's going to give you his all and if you don't have him in the field and he's your dh, what's Stanton.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I was about to say. But you can't do that.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no, he has to play. That's what I mean. So Stanton now will be healthy, but

[Peter Rosenberg]

Stan Stanton has to dh. If you think of what they've been as an offense in the playoffs for the last five years, Stanton has to be every day.

[Alan Hahn]

Which is why then at some point before October begins, Judge will have to play the outfield. That means he has to feel like it won't be hurt again because Judge is not the type of player who's going to pull up on a, you know, a looping fly ball that he'll have to run or dive to catch. He's not pulling up. Oh, I can't. Can't dive for that. He's. His instinct will make him die. Right. So he's going to have to be completely fully clear. No, you cannot re. Injure it. And that's something, of course, that you can't guarantee. So the Aaron Judge part of this whole conversation to me is something that is hanging over the franchise right now. We are. Brian Cashman's in the crosshairs, as he should be because he's got less than three hours now to figure out one of the bigger issues on the team which is right handed catcher. Need one, got to get one. Your biggest rival that is nipping at your heels just got one, a three time all star. What are you doing? So he's right now dealing with that. But when we get later in the year, the Judge story becomes bigger than anything because without Judge, the Yankees could still be competitive but they're not a championship caliber team. But if Judge is back, and I don't think it's a guarantee that he's back, but if he's back, what version of Judge are you getting and what's fair expectations for him when you get it Compared to the Rays have been consistently good every all year and the Red Sox for the last two months have been an absolute juggernaut and look like they want to go for it. That's the question that I'm asking.

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[Don Hahn]

thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Don Hahn]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want, just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Alan Hahn]

We're so used to the Yankees being the evil empire. Like that was the thing. And every year at the trade deadline or every year in the winter, there's enough frustration. The Soto thing probably was the final, final sword, right? Has to be where it's just, you know, they're just not. They're not. The Dodgers are. And other teams are willing to be active participants, aggressive. Look, fans get excited at the trade deadline because of the opportunity, the possibilities. What could happen to really take your team from one level to another. And when you, when you hesitate or when you just pass. The Yankees have, and I should say the cashmere has clung to prospects like they are precious metals. And you really can't name many prospects that you've heard about over the years that then have flourished and turned into great players. And so it cannot be something that is received with frustration every year when they don't land a big fish or they aren't the kings of the deadline. But yet we fall for it every year we expect, we look for, we hear about all the rumors and then it doesn't happen. And every year it's the same guy, Brian Cashman. And every year he has his explaining and his reasons, but it is, it's not what it used to be. But we still can't let go of it because of the brand. It's the biggest brand in baseball. It's a big one of the biggest brands in sports. And yet they don't act the way we used. We're used to them acting. And that's, that's what's frustrating about a day like today. Although there's still two and a half hours to change that feeling. 800 now. 193776. Let's get some calls in here, Ross and West Point will start us off. Hey, Ross.

[Caller]

Hey.

You guys are the goods. Thanks for taking my call.

[Alan Hahn]

Thanks for calling.

[Caller]

So I've just been on hold for

a little bit and I just had

this epiphany, so I'm going to have to pull over at some point and clean that up. But my thought was, do you think the Yankees, by not making a move, are making a statement about the health of Aaron Judge? Like, if the Yankees knew that Aaron Judge is going to be back and going to be fine, would they make more moves or would they make less moves? And that's where I'm a little stuck because I'm not exactly sure. But this what they're not doing or what they are Doing, I think has a lot to do with Judge and whether he's coming back or not.

[Alan Hahn]

That's literally what Ross. Like what I was saying before we went to break.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah. Exact same.

[Alan Hahn]

It just feels like the Judge thing hangs over this franchise. And if he was healthy, if he. Let's say he had this thing, but he can't, he was back already from it. Would they be more aggressive? Would they say, all right, you know what, we're going for it, or does his injury make them feel like we don't know what version we're going to get of him in the playoffs and we're going to give up future prospects, players that could be ready by 27 or 28 that we might need in this new era where we might have a salary cap to go for it this year, to not have to have a compromised Aaron Judge and a Stanton who's going to be a pinch hitter.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But by the way, if Judge was playing, we don't know what they'd be doing and whether they think they didn't have to make moves. Maybe their offense doesn't look like pure hot garbage.

[Alan Hahn]

If Judges playing well, I think the catcher thing was always going to be.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But they'd have to do something.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, that was one area you kind of knew. But I don't.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, it certainly changes, though, what your perspective is like.

[Alan Hahn]

Garcia is a. It's a good bat to add to the lineup, but it wasn't an area of need. It was only because Goldschmidt was playing too much. You don't need him playing that much. It wasn't good for him and it wasn't good for your lineup. So this allows you to have a little more now wiggle room at first base, at dh, catcher, whatever. So. But that. That didn't. That doesn't feel like the priority move. But they made it. Probably looked at it as a value move and it certainly is. The guy's been fantastic this year and you've got him for a couple of years. But the catcher thing is something that I'm still watching and what they're going to do there, the righty catcher, because the lineup is heavy, lefty. We know how teams stack up against them. They know exactly how to play them in the playoffs. That's always been the thing with the Yankees. Everybody just seems to know how to shut down that lineup. But if Judge, as he just mentioned, if Judge is not himself,

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

no one

[Alan Hahn]

is going to give him a break. Nobody's going to say, well, he missed so much of the year with that injury no. 1. They're just going to throw their hands up and go, there goes Judge again in October. Can't trust him. Right. It's possible and that's not fair, but it's real. Let's go to Flavio and Bushwick. Flop.

[Caller]

Hey, how's it going, Alan? What's going on, Peter?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yo.

[Caller]

Yo.

Hey. So I have two points. One about the. The Met. I understand why they're trying to, you know, eliminate a lot of the players that they have now just because they're trying to collect pieces, you know, because we don't know what's going to happen for next year. But it just frustrates me to see that are the. The Mets gm Tradesway, Brandon's wrote Jet Williams for Freddie Peralta for.

[Alan Hahn]

For a couple.

[Caller]

For.

What is it, like 22 starts. What kills me and I know Don's on the, on the scene. Both suit is the whole thank you, Freddy. Because why are we for like, this guy has like almost a 5 era. I hate when teams do that.

[Alan Hahn]

Like, you were in our group chat today. I swear to God, Flavio, I swear to God, I saw that tweet by the Mets. And they're not the only ones that do it. Everybody does this. It's. It's in sports. It's maddening. They do a thank you, a thank you tweet, and thanks for the call. They do a thank you tweet, Peter, for a player that was there for like five minutes. Thank you. For what?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Taking money.

[Alan Hahn]

You know, Jeremy Sohan. Thank you. You know what? Jeremy Sohan should say thank you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's right.

[Alan Hahn]

The Knicks should go, you're welcome. With a picture of Jeremy Sohan with the, with the championship trophy. You're welcome. Like the Mets should say, you're welcome.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's correct.

[Alan Hahn]

Gave you a ton of money. You did nothing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What should the. Should there be a standard. What should the line be?

[Alan Hahn]

I think it's if you contributed to something, if you did something like either.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Either you were a part of something special that happened.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[WNBA Promo Voice]

At a moment.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Or nothing special happened, but you were really good. Like, really, really good.

[Alan Hahn]

Look, first of all, you get a thank you if you've been here for more than two years, less than two years, you can't get a thank you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I don't even know if two years.

[Alan Hahn]

You think two years shouldn't. More. It should be more. Three years.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Sure.

[Alan Hahn]

Can I give you three years? You get a thank you because you put in some time. You've been here. You were here for a couple Years.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But what if you're like, literally end of the bench for three years? You didn't really do anything. You just kind of collected money.

[Alan Hahn]

I mean, I would think you'd have to be somebody that played every day. You're not going to thank you if you were like a bullpen guy that was barely used. I just feel like that's like. Do fans really need to see the thank you tweet? You ever, ever look at the comments on the thank you tweets?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, I'm hilarious. Not great.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, my God, they're hilarious. Every time you see one from a team that had a player that, you know was a disaster with that franchise and then they let him go, and it's just, you know, thank you, whoever. It's for what?

[Peter Rosenberg]

You're just setting the person up.

[Alan Hahn]

What are we thanking Freddie Peralta for? For what? What did he do? What did he give you? What was his Met moment? Did he have one?

[Caller]

No, no.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He's been a Met during one of the worst moments for the Mets.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm telling you. There was a. Oh, oh, how about. How about Brazabon? Brazabon got a thank you. I saw that one, too, earlier today. Thank you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

A generic thank you. Like, what do they say? Just like, hey, thanks, pal.

[Alan Hahn]

Had his. It all says the same thing. They have his picture and it just says thank you. And with his name.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Alan Hahn]

It's like, I just feel like you're trolling fans when you do that. You know, you could do. Instead of tweeting it, send them a card a little more personal.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I think the Don, thank you is all they need. One more time for me.

[Unidentified Commentator]

Thank you.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, that's it, actually. That's all you need. Yeah. You know, the cards. Remember the old days. You open the card, it has a button. It says, press this, and you could record a message.

[WNBA Promo Voice]

Thank you.

[Alan Hahn]

That's what we do. We just make a bunch of cards. Has a Met logo on the front, open it up, press this button, and you hear don, thank you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Thank you very much. By the way, this service, to me,

[Alan Hahn]

that is the better way to thank a player. Adam in New Jersey. Adam, what do you got?

[Caller]

What's up, guys? Just to piggyback on what you just said, what they should do for people to do nothing is they can send that same card, and when they press the button, they can play Michael Cage. Drop them. See ya. And it could be that simple.

One over with.

He could be gone there. Hey, listen, if you guys give me half a second here, I want to talk about the Yankees, and maybe, just maybe, okay, maybe they're smaller than we give them credit for. All right? And I'm going to tell you how maybe they have a backup plan. Now, I know that Jack Curry has said they don't intend to catch Ben Rice. Understood.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Caller]

I think a big part of that has been because to keep them fresh, keep them hitting, you know, all the stuff he's been doing, they have no bots. And even it. However, if they don't get a catcher today, I think they already have a timeline with Judge, and I'm going to guess by the type injury it is, if they're being honest about it, you're going to see him start playing first week of September. When he starts playing first week of September, stands also going to be coming back. Bellinger will probably already be back. Don't be shocked if for the last three weeks of the season, you see Ben Rice catch some to get him ready for the playoffs. Now, listen to this lineup. If they don't get a catcher and they go this route.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Caller]

Grisham, Judge, Rice, Stanton, Garcia, Chisholm, Bellinger, McMahon, Caballero. That is not a bad lineup, guys. It's really not. And that's only if they're willing to do that with Rice. And it could be something in the back of your head. They're saying, okay, we don't get a catcher. We didn't exhaust them all year, but we're gonna get him ready in September for the playoff run. It's a distinct possibility, I think. Thanks for your time, guys. Appreciate you taking the call.

[Alan Hahn]

All right, Adam. Yeah. I mean, you. You got to put any type of thought into it that you can, and that's when they're fully healthy. And I wonder, how do you know they're ever going to be fully healthy this year? How do you really know that's what they're going to be, is fully healthy? Because you just said Stanton and Judge, meaning Judge would be in right field where he normally would be when he's fully healthy. But if he's got a rib thing and it's that delicate that he had to miss three months, wouldn't you worry about him straining it, throwing the ball, diving for the ball, crashing into the wall, whatever it is, because you can't afford to lose him again. So it's. To me, that's what's hanging over this whole thing. Now, Rice catching doesn't. Again, it still doesn't address the lineup issue. But Jack Curry did say that that's not the plan.

[Unidentified Commentator]

He is someone who should come in right away and be an impact bat. How will the Yankees deploy him? That's what remains to be seen. I know there's probably a segment of the Yankee universe who would say, hmm, they could put Garcia at first and then put Ben Rice behind the plate. And they haven't been getting a lot of offense from their catchers. That's not going to happen. That is not going to happen. The Yankees have made that clear since spring training. Ben Rice is not suddenly in August going to become a catcher. They're happy with what their catchers have done defensively, not offensively.

[Alan Hahn]

Not offensively. Which is the key. Which is why for Brian Cashman, the clock is ticking to fix that problem. 800 now 193776 we'll get more your calls. But hey, I want to tell you about Rings in because the project at my house I've been telling you about is done.

[Caller]

Whoa.

[Alan Hahn]

I'll show you video. I'll show you video.

[Caller]

Hold on.

[Alan Hahn]

It is. It came out really good. Very excited. But the centerpiece of the whole thing, these gorgeous French doors that I got from Ring's End. Now Rings End has an extensive inventory of built to last high end product lines that contractors like my guy Michael Weldon and his son Zach who did all the work and it came out gorgeous by the way. They rely on this stuff. So you get your contractor to reach out to Ring's End and they work together to come up with the best solutions for you. When you have a home, you know, home improvement project or you want to update or upgrade anything around your house, I'm talking about doors, windows, kitchens, all the things that you would need. They have it all. And they are, by the way, a local business. They have eight full service lumber yards in Connecticut and Westchester county and 12 freestanding paint centers as well. Rings End family owned and operated since 1902. That's 124 years in business to you and me. They have deep northeast roots. They support local builders and communities. They are a company you can trust. I did so you can too. Now if you can't make it to any of their stores, you can. You can always shop [e-mail] that's ringsend.com

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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this message is brought to you by Apple Card Shave ice by the beach, a trip to the state fair and a throwback flick at the local drive in. They're more than just items to check off the summer bucket list. There are also opportunities to earn 2% daily cash back when you use your Apple Card with Apple Pay. Apply for Apple Card now and use in minutes with Apple Pay. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and [e-mail] Tomorrow morning is knocking.

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[Don Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Don Hahn]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Alan Hahn]

We do know what Boston had to give up to get Adley Rushman, who the Yankees did have interest in, but the Red Sox swooped in and outbid them. Red Sox gave up.

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right.

[Alan Hahn]

I mean if I name names, Peter, you're going to look at me like who the hell is this? Right. Let's all live in this world that it's very difficult to keep up unless you are really a die hard fan.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Sure. Prospects and right with prospects.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, like I'm gonna name names.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You like Red Sox prospects.

[Alan Hahn]

Some guys are single a double A like look, you want to call in and tell us about these players because you put in that kind of work. Did you go to these games? Whatever it is, God bless you. Do it. I'll give you the, I'll give you the stage. But I'm just going to tell you what they rank in Boston's system.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That that's better.

[Alan Hahn]

All right. So they're sending a pitcher who's their number two prospect and he's a top 50 overall. All right. Major League Baseball, they sent a prospect, another pitcher who's the number four prospect. So they're number two and they're number four. So two of their top four prospects, they send for a guy who's 28, three time all star, been hurt, has another year under contract and then they sent the number five prospect. So now three is up, five pine shown and then number 17 have his leg.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's not Who This.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They didn't send Tommy Hindson?

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Peter Rosenberg]

John Havlicek or Dave Cowens.

[Alan Hahn]

Dave Cowens.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He said. Well, Reagan said Covens.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, Covins.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And how do you say. Havocheck half is like have.

[Alan Hahn]

Have. Slick.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's a tough one. Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

Heinz show.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Tommy Hindshow. You know Tommy Hindshow.

[Alan Hahn]

Of course. Tommy Hines show.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So. But by the way, those could.

[Alan Hahn]

Reagan a well known Laker fan.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Exactly. So, yeah, that's a lot.

[Alan Hahn]

Three of your top five prospects. So, Anthony, you have the list of the Yankees top prospects, correct?

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

Yes, I do.

[Alan Hahn]

Yankee fans who are listening will know these names because if you're a Yankee fan, you're supposed to know these names. Give me their number. Two, three. No, number two, four and five prospects. So go.

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

Dax Kilby, which is in the. Who's a shortstop. Yeah, of course. Now you have Lombard and Kilby. He was somebody that the Yankees apparently was. They were interested. The Padres were for a Mason Miller

[Alan Hahn]

deal and they wouldn't do.

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

And they were looking at Kilby and apparently that. No, no one said whether that was like the deal breaker or not. But it doesn't sound like they want to part.

[Alan Hahn]

Wasn't Williams deal breaker there?

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

Well, that. That's been reported then unreported. Feinstein said that that wasn't true and then Heyman said that it was. So I don't know what's going on with that at all. Then you have Carlos Legrand. Hey, who.

[Alan Hahn]

He's the one that throws triple digits

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

and they love him and they want to be a reliever.

[Alan Hahn]

He'll be their closer one.

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

And if he wasn't injured, he'd probably be up in their bullpen right now. And then Henry Lalanne, who admittedly, I

[Alan Hahn]

don't know a whole lot about Jackson.

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

Right, exactly. Very close. They're very close.

[Alan Hahn]

Henry Lalanne Jackson.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And he's Henry lalanne Jackson.

[Alan Hahn]

Jackson. No, no.

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

Jack's son. Jack Lalanne son.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Jack lalanne's son.

[Alan Hahn]

You just.

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

It was right here.

[Alan Hahn]

He had three hours drinking water.

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

It was a whole lot. So he's. He's your number five, but he's your number five prospect, sir.

[Caller]

Harvey.

[Unidentified Commentator]

Got it.

[Alan Hahn]

He loves it. Look at him.

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

And by the way, we're not saying that each of these are equal. I forget who's higher, whether it's the Red Sox farm system or the Yankees farm system, but it doesn't matter. You're talking about Kilby LeGrandje and Lalanne. Plus, like the 17th prospect. There's a Guy named Marines, who's a shortstop that's expected to be in the big leagues in 20, 30 plus a cat.

[Alan Hahn]

Stop.

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right, but what do you got?

[Alan Hahn]

A lot of shortstops, apparently.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But the point is, would Yankee fans have been okay with giving up this

[Alan Hahn]

much what we just told you, Never mind the 17 who's a rental right

[Prospect Expert/Analyst]

now, by the way. He has not signed a deal. You would assume by doing that he's signing a. He's signing Rushman. Yes, Rushman.

[Alan Hahn]

He's got one more year left though. See, to me, this is how you do it if you're the Red Sox is how you do it. I bring him in, don't want to do an extension because I know I got you next year, but I don't know what next year is going to be. Next year could be half a season for all I know. Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No season.

[Alan Hahn]

And I also don't know what the world's going to look like on the other side. Meaning not only cap, no cap, salary cap, floor. You don't know if they're going to put restrictions on length of contract. They might have term restrictions now on contracts so that you can't do these eight, nine, ten year deals. Right. You can't do these crazy long deals and defer money and all that stuff. There might be rules that you don't even know are coming. Let me work under the, under the new rules to give you an extension rather than do one now, wouldn't that make more sense? Let's see what the world looks like when the dust settles before I give you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

How can you.

[Alan Hahn]

Because at 28, if I'm limited to a five or six year deal, if that's, if that's the limit on term, I'll do it. Because you're 28. Well, 29 by next year. But if I could still do eight, nine year deal. No, I don't know if I'm doing that. And that makes things a little more difficult. Let's continue with the calls. 800 now. 193776 on the MLB trade deadline. George in Manhattan. Hey George.

[Caller]

Hey. How are you guys?

[Alan Hahn]

Good.

[Caller]

Out. I would consider myself an optimistic guy and I will stay optimistic till 6pm but I think what's, what's really ridiculous is if we take a step back to the 20, 25 postseason, really the only bright spot was Aaron Judge. And I think at the end of the day, if we don't get a catcher, if we don't get someone for the left side of the infield, we're going to be stuck with people like Trent Grisham and frankly Jazz Chisholm in the postseason who were holes at bats. And it's, it's just like, honestly, it's just crazy that Cashman has sort of been twirling his thumb. And I would say like Garcia is a great move, but I just think it's, it's not sustainable and I think it's just borderline crazy because yeah, the wild card was great, but we're a Yankees team. We don't care about the wild card. And we lost in the. And we frankly, it was a poor showing and we looked terrible besides Aaron Judge.

[Alan Hahn]

It's true. And then George, let me ask you because you're the optimist. If Judge comes back, but he can't really get into typical Judge rhythm and in the playoffs, you know, he's just not effective. And the Yankees lose, do you think Yankee fans will give him a pass or will he get criticized even more?

[Caller]

Well, this is the New York Yankees. I think if Judge doesn't perform in the playoffs, even though he's, he's one of the greatest hitters to ever walk on this planet, I think he's going to take a lot of criticism and that's just what he signed up for, being on the New York Yankees. But I think at the end of the day, Cashman is rolling with a lot of guys who, it wasn't even like they would have put up a good at bat. Like Jazz Chisholm had had that one good homer off Varland in the game that Judge saved.

Right.

And then we came up the next day and we got our asses beat. So it's just, it's a little bit ridiculous that we're kind of doing this all over again and we have guys who are sitting on the IL who are going to quote, unquote, come back and save this team. But they are going to need to get going in the month of September. And I just think the AL is getting better and better and we're just sitting around.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, you're absolutely right, George. Thanks for the call. And again, just look at the standings right now. Look where the Red Sox are right now and just ask yourself, by the way they're playing, how aggressive they are. Would you be surprised if a week from now you're talking about the third place Yankees? Would it be shocking to you?

[Peter Rosenberg]

You can't say it'd be shocking. No, I wouldn't say it's a lock, but you certainly would be shocking.

[Alan Hahn]

Nobody's saying it's a lock. But look at the schedule coming up for the Red Sox, the way they've been playing. I mean, the message that their organization just gave that clubhouse. Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, what happened on the flip side? If you were another team in the AL and you were finding out what your playoff matchup was going to be, would you be more scared at this moment to hear was the Yankees or the Red Sox? I think you'd be a lot more worried about the Red Sox right now.

[Alan Hahn]

Absolutely true.

[Don Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I don't want to know how the

[Alan Hahn]

sausage is made, man. I just want to know.

[Don Hahn]

It's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter Weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.

[WNBA Promo Voice]

You know when you're locked in, focused and fearless. Welcome to the wnba. Your vision narrows. You can't look away. Every assist, every stop, every logo. Three from beyond the logo. Every did you see that moment? You been what records are going to be broken this season? All of it right here.

[Alan Hahn]

Lock in.

[WNBA Promo Voice]

It's the WNBA on ESPN all season long.