Time To See How "Open For Business" The Yanks Really Are

Brian Cashman declared the Yankees "open for business"  on the trade market last week, not a huge declaration given the constant wheeling and dealing he's been doing since early in spring camp.  With the regular season now almost half over and the shine almost completely worn off the handful of spring acquisitions, now it's going to be put up or shut up time for Cash and the Yankees to follow through on that declaration with more than just marginal moves.

They've already been unlinked to Manny Ramirez and the recently DFA'd Ramon Hernandez, both of whom play positions at which the Yankees could afford to upgrade.  Their status as defensive liabilities and below-average offensive players hardly makes either an upgrade though, so Cash choosing to pass on them is understandable and justifiable.  But the trade market is starting to come together with both Chicago clubs announcing last week that they're looking to sell and more teams likely to follow suit in the next few weeks.

There's no question that there are potential upgrades to be had on both of those clubs should Cash try to pursue them.  What is a question is how aggressive the Yankees are willing to be to get those upgrades.  Cash considerations and players to be named later aren't going to get it done if they're serious about adding someone like Nate Schierholtz.  The lineup is still badly in need of a boost in multiple areas, and the team's willingness to seriously engage teams in talks over the next month will give insight into how serious they are about contending down the stretch this season and also possibly into how serious the budget plans for next season still are.