Cashman 'not afraid' to trade within AL East
Brian Cashman isn't going to let a little division rivalry get in the way of a deal that would help his team.
The New York Yankees general manager made that perfectly clear in the face of rumors suggesting the Baltimore Orioles might have interest in one of his players. Earlier Wednesday, Baltimore was reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network to be targeting Brett Gardner - a player that Cashman's fielded calls about throughout the offseason - on the condition that the Yankees cover at least some of his $11-million salary next season.
The potential of Gardner donning orange and black was something Orioles manager Buck Showalter hadn't heard about before Wednesday. Once made aware of the rumor, Showalter expressed a healthy amount of skepticism about landing the 2016 Gold Glover from a division rival that rarely, if ever, lines up as a trade partner.
"They wouldn't trade with us," Showalter told reporters, according to ASAP Sports. "Unless it was somebody they wanted to pass off on us. Tried that before."
Cashman didn't discuss the prospect of trading Gardner specifically, but he did do his best to refute Showalter's claim that he won't deal with the Orioles.
"I think I've demonstrated that I am not afraid to trade with anybody," Cashman said, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. "I think there are teams - within the division, mostly - that have been afraid to deal with us or unwilling to deal with us.
"I've been around enough - this is my 20th year as GM - and I've made trades with the Mets and I've traded with the Red Sox. If I can trade with the Red Sox and the Mets, I can trade with the Orioles. I can trade with anybody."
Cashman went on to reveal that he discussed a trade with his counterpart in Baltimore, Dan Duquette, during the season, but it ultimately didn't come to fruition.
"I dealt with the Orioles on (Ivan) Nova during the trade deadline," Cashman said, referring to the former Yankees hurler who was dealt to Pittsburgh in August. "They chose to go in a different direction, but I wasn't unwilling to trade Nova to the Orioles. My trade history, I assume I've traded with every team in the game."
The Yankees and Orioles have made just three trades since Cashman was elevated to GM in 1998, most recently in June 2012 when the Orioles acquired Steve Pearce for cash considerations.