PHILADELPHIA -- The Yankees intended to do more ahead of Tuesday¡¯s Trade Deadline, general manager Brian Cashman confirmed on Wednesday, including the club¡¯s stalled bid to acquire right-hander Jack Flaherty from the Tigers.

Cashman said that the Yankees were heavily engaged with Detroit in the hours leading to the 6 p.m. ET transaction cutoff, but the clubs could not match up on values.

That clashes with a report published in The Athletic, which stated that the Yankees backed out of a preliminary trade agreement after reviewing Flaherty¡¯s medical records. Flaherty was instead traded to the Dodgers in exchange for Minor League catcher/first baseman Thayron Liranzo and shortstop Trey Sweeney.

¡°I think Jack Flaherty is an exceptional starter,¡± Cashman said. ¡°I had difficulty matching up with the Tigers on Jack Flaherty. I certainly would have loved to have him as a choice for us, as well as anybody else that would potentially be an upgrade on our rotation.

¡°Unfortunately, you get a lot of different reports going out there. At the end of the day, I would have brought Jack Flaherty in if I could have matched up. I had difficulty matching up, and that was the reason I don¡¯t have him. Simple as that.¡±

Flaherty, 28, was the best starting pitcher moved ahead of this year¡¯s Deadline. A pending free agent, he was 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA in 18 starts for Detroit.

However, Flaherty missed a start in early July due to a lower back issue, which necessitated two injections in three weeks. Since returning, he has pitched to a 1.53 ERA with 18 strikeouts across three starts.

There also may have been more pieces at work. USA Today¡¯s Bob Nightengale reported that a potential three-way deal collapsed involving the Yankees, Tigers and Cardinals, in which left-hander Nestor Cortes would have gone to St. Louis. Infielder Tommy Edman was also mentioned; Edman instead went to the Dodgers.

Cashman said that the club¡¯s previous experience with trading for right-hander Frankie Montas did not play a part in their hesitancy to complete a move. In 2022, Montas had experienced shoulder issues ahead of a trade from the Athletics, and he later acknowledged he was not fully healthy. Montas pitched only 41 innings for the Bombers, eventually requiring surgery.

¡°It was just unfortunate circumstances there,¡± Cashman said. ¡°It didn¡¯t create any gun-shy side of things in player acquisitions. We trust our medical people. They¡¯re really good. They give us a lot of feedback and recommendations and cautions. Everybody comes with risk regardless.

¡°But ultimately, since there is so much reporting out there, in the end I could not match up with value [on Flaherty]. All the way to the end, I was talking to the Tigers regarding Jack Flaherty, and he wound up going a different direction. In the end, we failed because we couldn¡¯t match up on value. That¡¯s all.¡±

The Yanks¡¯ moves ahead of the Trade Deadline thus included the acquisitions of infielder/outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Marlins), right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. (Cubs) and right-hander Enyel de los Santos (Padres).

¡°I liked what we had before we made the moves, and I know we¡¯ve improved since these moves,¡± Cashman said. ¡°I think we have a really good team already, and it¡¯ll get better over the course of time when certain guys come back from the IL. With the imports, we¡¯ve made it better.¡±

Holding pattern for ¡®The Martian¡¯
Giancarlo Stanton¡¯s return to the active roster has returned the Yankees to their previous stance regarding outfielder Jasson Domínguez, the club¡¯s No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

With Stanton, Alex Verdugo, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto all healthy, and Trent Grisham now returned to a reserve role, the Yankees do not see a current opportunity for playing time on the big league roster for Dom¨ªnguez.

For now, Dom¨ªnguez will remain at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he has played three games (2-for-11, two RBIs) since being activated following a left oblique strain. Dominguez¡¯s season started late due to recovery from Tommy John surgery performed in September.

¡°He¡¯s a legitimate force when he¡¯s healthy and all the rust is knocked off,¡± Cashman said. ¡°It¡¯s exciting to know that¡¯s an opportunity that¡¯s there, but I have no idea past that. We like what we have currently, and it¡¯d be nice to know that¡¯s sitting there if we need it.¡±