Casey McGehee Trade Reaction: Exactly What The Yankees Needed

The trade deadline acquisition of Casey McGehee from the Pittsburgh Pirates fits a pattern that has been established by New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman this season. Aside from the splashy move for Ichiro Suzuki, Cashman has acquired lots of low-cost role players to supplement his roster of stars.

Relievers Cody Eppley and Clay Rapada, infielder Jayson Nix, outfielder DeWayne Wise [released when Ichiro was acquired] are among them. Even Ichiro is really a role player now, a star in name only. Cashman acquired McGehee for relatively nothing, shipping Chad Qualls to Pittsburgh. Qualls was acquired less than a month ago, and pitched to a 6.14 ERA while with the Yankees.

McGehee will likely play third base against right-handed pitchers while Alex Rodriguez recovers from his broken hand. He can also play first base, which might be significant if Mar Teixeira's wrist injury lingers.

Here is some of the reaction to the McGehee trade.

Yankees Trade Chad Qualls to Pirates for Casey McGehee - Pinstripe Alley
Casey McGehee is almost exactly what the Yankees were looking to add, and the fact that they were able to get him in exchange for the worst pitcher on their roster makes it even better. McGehee is a righthanded hitting corner infielder who turns 30 in October, and he's hit .230/.297/.377 with a wRC+ of 83. Those overall numbers aren't very impressive, but he's hit .250/.344/.463 with a wRC+ of 119 against lefthanded pitchers. That's the key; while Alex Rodriguez recovers, he lefty Eric Chavez will likely hit against righties and McGehee will likely hit against lefties. McGehee's mostly been playing first base with the Buccos, but in his previous four years with the Milwaukee Brewers, he was almost exclusively a third baseman with an average glove (career UZR/150 of -1.0 at the hot corner). Well played, Brian Cashman. He is still a ninja with his tendency to pull off surprise deals like this one and last week's Ichiro Suzuki trade.

Pirates Trade Casey McGehee To Yankees For Chad Qualls - MLB Daily Dish
The Yankees have acquired Casey McGehee from the Pirates in exchange for Chad Qualls.

Casey McGehee Trade: Bucs Deal McGehee To Yankees For Chad Qualls - Bucs Dugout
The Yankees got Qualls a few weeks ago for a player to be named, so for them, this is like getting McGehee for nothing. Not that McGehee is much better than that, but if you want him to just play against lefties, which is how the Pirates should have used him all along, he probably would have played just fine.