In the final minutes of the trade deadline the Yankees made a move for a third baseman as a temporary replacement for the injured Alex Rodriguez.
The Yankees traded Chad Qualls to the Pirates for Casey McGehee, an infielder who can play first or third, both positions the Yankees currently need temporary replacement at, and also a solid right handed bat who can be a DH.
Although this trade wasn’t a huge blockbuster by any means, you have to give Cashman credit for filling a role that needed some help at third, and also getting $250,000 for Qualls who has not done much while in pinstripes.
Cashman new what he was doing as he told the Daily Post “McGehee can obviously be a righthanded bat off the bench, he can play first base, he can play third base, he can DH. So it gives Joe some flexibility as he matches up whether it’s to put a starting lineup together or to matchup later in the game.”
Qualls has not been a huge factor in the pitching lineup this season, and the fact that Joba Chamberlain would be returning to the rotation after his trampoline ankle injury made this deal a no brainer.
