Yanks land RHPs Middleton, Howard in pair of deals

NEW YORK -- The Yankees’ inconsistent performance prompted indecision within the front office about whether to be buyers or sellers in advance of this year’s Trade Deadline, which passed at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday with the club making only a pair of minor moves.

Just minutes before the Deadline, New York acquired right-handed reliever Keynan Middleton from the White Sox in exchange for Minor League righty Juan Carela.

The Yankees also obtained right-hander Spencer Howard from the Rangers in exchange for cash considerations.

“Obviously, we’re in it to win it,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “We stayed the course because of that. We’ve got Nestor [Cortes] coming back as well as [Jonathan] Loáisiga soon. We know that we have better baseball in us, although we haven’t shown that and proven that. We’ve got two more months to show that.”

Cashman went into the Deadline with left field, catcher and bullpen help on his shopping list, characterizing his club as “opportunistic buyers if anything made sense, and opportunistic sellers.” The Yankees' continued struggles shifted their philosophy into “cautious buyers,” he said.

With only one-third of the season remaining, the Yankees are on pace for 83 wins after Tuesday night's 5-2 loss to the Rays at Yankee Stadium. They had a losing record in June (11-12) and July (10-15) -- their first consecutive sub-.500 months since April-May 2007.

“We really haven't helped our case,” said infielder/outfielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa. “We've tried to play better, but we haven't, and we put the front office in a weird spot. So whatever they do, it's on us, really.”

The Yankees showed interest in switch-hitting Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson while also listening to offers on their potential free agents, a group that includes outfielder Harrison Bader, Kiner-Falefa, left-hander Wandy Peralta and right-hander Luis Severino.

“It wasn’t a deep Trade Deadline in terms of options,” Cashman said. “Navigating it wasn’t easy, but we were open-minded to a lot of different things. We stayed engaged every step of the way. We felt when the dust settled, no one was able to pry anything away from us that we felt was more valuable than where we’re sitting in the standings at 3 1/2 games out [of the third American League Wild Card spot], still having a chance to find a way to get it together and take a shot.”

Though Bader was not in the Bombers’ lineup Tuesday night, manager Aaron Boone said that it was a scheduled day off.

With Cashman unable to address an offense that has a .229 batting average -- 29th in the Majors ahead of only the Athletics (.223) -- the Yankees will look for Aaron Judge to lead a lineup that also must see DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton restore their offensive performance to the back of their baseball cards.

“We do have the talent and we have the capabilities,” Cashman said. “Saying it is one thing. I know watching it lately isn’t anything close to what you would feel comfortable with. But we do measure that again with the options that were presented to us. I’m sure some people out there [would say], 'Tear it down and sell,' and other people are out there saying, 'Add something big.'

“There wasn’t a big thing to add, to be quite honest, that was going to solve the immediate problems we have. In terms of the sell stuff, there’s certainly a lot of players here that are talented and that playoff teams would like to get their hands on. In terms of prying that away from us, it wasn’t really worth it. It was like, ‘I’d rather just keep it and take a shot.’”

Middleton, 29, was 2-2 with a 3.96 ERA and two saves in 39 appearances with Chicago this season. In 36 1/3 innings, he permitted 17 runs (16 earned) on 33 hits and 16 walks against 47 strikeouts.

A seven-year veteran, Middleton has pitched to a 4.00 career ERA in 193 big league games (192 in relief) with the Angels (2017-20), Mariners (‘21), D-backs (‘22) and White Sox. Middleton can be a free agent after the season.

Carela, 21, was 2-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 17 games (16 starts) with High-A Hudson Valley. He was ranked as the Yankees’ No. 29 prospect by MLB Pipeline. In 83 1/3 innings, Carela permitted 40 runs (34 earned) on 65 hits and 32 walks against 109 strikeouts.

The 27-year-old Howard had a 10.80 ERA in three appearances with the Rangers this season. In four big league seasons with the Phillies (2020-21) and Texas (‘21-23), Howard has a 3-11 record and a 7.20 ERA in 38 games (29 starts).

“Hopefully we got a little better with Middleton, and hopefully we can get better from within,” Cashman said. “And hopefully we didn’t get worse by making a bad decision.”