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BRIDGEWATER – Just as Somerset Patriots manager James Cooper was set to speak to a reporter at TD Bank Ballpark on Saturday, his phone buzzed in his hand.
Cooper politely excused himself for a few minutes.
It's that time of year.
With the Major League Baseball trade deadline approaching, the first-year manager of the Yankees' Double-A affiliate knows his roster could look dramatically soon.
"I do believe in this industry that everyone feels that way, that if you're in Double-A and your parent club is usually aggressive in making moves this time of year," he said. "We're the Yankees and we tend to do that all the time, so I'm not going to be surprised if there's going to be a turnover in the roster. It happened to me in High-A last year. Didn't happen to me in Low-A, but this past year we did trade some guys that were in Low-A, so it happened to the previous manager who was there last year. Definitely have talked to Mario Garza and Kevin Reese in the past about how to handle those situations, but also just getting advice from guys who have been in that spot before and doing everything we can to treat it like a small speed bump."
Already expected to add catcher Omar Alfonzo as part of the return from the Pirates in exchange for Camilo Doval in a deal that went down Friday afternoon, some bigger dominoes are expected to fall prior to Monday's official deadline at 6 p.m. ET.
While the Yankees system as a whole is considered to be lighter than most in baseball, particularly given trades over the last few years that have continuously depleted it, there are some potential trade chips to be found.
More: Will Warren, Spencer Jones boost Yankees on field and in trade value
The majority of those have either been promoted from Somerset – George Lombard Jr., Elmer Rodriguez, injured reliever Carlos Lagrange, Spencer Jones and others – or haven't gotten here yet, like 2025 first-rounder Dax Kilby and top High-A arms Henry Lalane, Bryce Cunningham and Thatcher Hurd.
However, some Patriots players have heard their names mentioned in rumors, including fast-rising reliever Ben Grable, who pitched in this year's Futures Game despite having been drafted just last year in the 11th round prior to his meteoric climb up the system.
"Honestly, at the end of the day, I think it's all noise," Grable said. "My job is to go out and pitch, and I'm going to do that wherever it may be and try to attack each hitter and each day with the same level of focus."
Cooper takes a hands-on approach with players whose names surface in trade rumors.
"It's player-dependent, knowing that individual and knowing how well they have handled some things like that in the past or how well they haven't handled those things in the past," he said. "I'm just trying to be supportive of where they are, but also remind them that if your name is in that conversation, that's a good thing. Somebody has seen what you've done in the past and they value it."
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Yankees trade deadline could shake up Somerset Patriots roster
Continue reading...
Cooper politely excused himself for a few minutes.
It's that time of year.
With the Major League Baseball trade deadline approaching, the first-year manager of the Yankees' Double-A affiliate knows his roster could look dramatically soon.
"I do believe in this industry that everyone feels that way, that if you're in Double-A and your parent club is usually aggressive in making moves this time of year," he said. "We're the Yankees and we tend to do that all the time, so I'm not going to be surprised if there's going to be a turnover in the roster. It happened to me in High-A last year. Didn't happen to me in Low-A, but this past year we did trade some guys that were in Low-A, so it happened to the previous manager who was there last year. Definitely have talked to Mario Garza and Kevin Reese in the past about how to handle those situations, but also just getting advice from guys who have been in that spot before and doing everything we can to treat it like a small speed bump."
Already expected to add catcher Omar Alfonzo as part of the return from the Pirates in exchange for Camilo Doval in a deal that went down Friday afternoon, some bigger dominoes are expected to fall prior to Monday's official deadline at 6 p.m. ET.
While the Yankees system as a whole is considered to be lighter than most in baseball, particularly given trades over the last few years that have continuously depleted it, there are some potential trade chips to be found.
More: Will Warren, Spencer Jones boost Yankees on field and in trade value
The majority of those have either been promoted from Somerset – George Lombard Jr., Elmer Rodriguez, injured reliever Carlos Lagrange, Spencer Jones and others – or haven't gotten here yet, like 2025 first-rounder Dax Kilby and top High-A arms Henry Lalane, Bryce Cunningham and Thatcher Hurd.
However, some Patriots players have heard their names mentioned in rumors, including fast-rising reliever Ben Grable, who pitched in this year's Futures Game despite having been drafted just last year in the 11th round prior to his meteoric climb up the system.
"Honestly, at the end of the day, I think it's all noise," Grable said. "My job is to go out and pitch, and I'm going to do that wherever it may be and try to attack each hitter and each day with the same level of focus."
Cooper takes a hands-on approach with players whose names surface in trade rumors.
"It's player-dependent, knowing that individual and knowing how well they have handled some things like that in the past or how well they haven't handled those things in the past," he said. "I'm just trying to be supportive of where they are, but also remind them that if your name is in that conversation, that's a good thing. Somebody has seen what you've done in the past and they value it."
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Yankees trade deadline could shake up Somerset Patriots roster
Continue reading...
