MLB Teams Are Clearly Blackballing the Yankees so Brian Cashman Needs to Figure Something Out

Nobody wants to make the New York Yankees better. It's totally understandable. They're the best franchise in sports with their 27 championships, and they're arguably the best team in baseball right now despite dealing with nonstop injuries.

But what we've seen over the past year, and especially at the 2019 MLB trade deadline, makes it very clear teams either don't want to trade with the Yankees or are very much trying to rip them off.

Let's start back to last offseason when they were trying to acquire Gerrit Cole. The Pittsburgh Pirates rightfully asked for a big package in return, but to ask for some combination of Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar headlining a package at that juncture was perhaps a bit much. The Pirates went ahead and wouldn't accept a deal that headlined outfielder Clint Frazier for whatever reason, and then made a trade with the Astros in which they received Joe Musgrove, Colin Moran, Michael Feliz and Jason Martin.

Perhaps the Pirates were looking for quantity over quality, because Musgrove is totally OK, sporting a 4.23 ERA over 23 games (22 starts) this year; Feliz has a 4.24 ERA in 34 games (one start); Moran, while somewhat productive, owns a .765 OPS with Pittsburgh; and Martin is hitting .249 with a .711 OPS in 71 Triple-A games.

Next up! The Detroit Tigers. This one is short. They reportedly wanted GLEYBER TORRES for Matt Boyd. On what planet do you trade a 22-year-old All-Star middle infielder for a 28-year-old pitcher enduring his first season with an ERA under 4.00 (it's a 3.94)? Get a grip.

This next one involving the Toronto Blue Jays was originally not as big of a deal until they finally traded Marcus Stroman. The Yanks wanted Stroman, and as we know, the cost wasn't going to be low considered the right-hander has another year of control and the Yankees are a division opponent. That's fine and totally understandable.

But then to turn around and trade him to the New York Mets for two prospects not even in the MLB's top 100 after asking the Yankees for a package headlined by their No. 1 prospect, who is ranked No. 66 according to MLB.com, is just insane.

And finally, as we alluded to earlier, the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Yankees were reportedly interested in acquiring starter Robbie Ray, who, while a strikeout machine, has flirted with a 4.00 ERA over the past two seasons and has made just 47 starts over that span (and has only made more than 28 in his six-year career).

What type of return does that require in the D-backs' eyes?

Frazier and another prospect wasn't enough for whatever reason. The D-Backs reportedly wanted THREE prospects in addition to Frazier in exchange for the left-hander. If you don't think that's ridiculous, then look at what they got for Zack Greinke from the Astros AFTER they sent $24 million to Houston in the deal:

So Greinke hauls four total prospects and Ray was somehow worth Frazier, a major-league-ready talent, plus three others (two of which you had to think would've been in the Yankees' top 30).

The Yankees are clearly being blackballed, so Brian Cashman needs to figure out a new strategy once the offseason rolls around in order to further improve the roster.

May we suggest...paying people?