GM Brian Cashman says Yankees tried for Rutschman and Skubal before acquiring Garcia and Ramos

NEW YORK (AP) — General manager Brian Cashman said the Yankees had conversations with the Detroit Tigers about Tarik Skubal and the Baltimore Orioles about Adley Rutschman but could not find a match before Monday's trade deadline.

Instead, the Yankees found other ways to bolster their roster, adding outfielder Heliot Ramos in a three-player trade from the last-place San Francisco Giants a day after acquiring left-handed hitting Luis Garcia Jr. from the Washington Nationals for four pitchers.

Skubal went to the Dodgers on Sunday in a blockbuster for three prospects and Rutschman was sent to the Red Sox for a package that included three of Boston’s top prospects earlier Monday.

“We had many conversation with Baltimore but were unable to obviously meet the price,” Cashman said in a video conference after the trade deadline passed. “So they did their business elsewhere and we kept grinding through it, but ultimately in the end of the day, there was no opportunity that existed that we felt good enough about to be able to push through on.”

The Yankees had less of a need for Skubal since their rotation began Monday with a 3.46 ERA, but their catchers entered the series opener against the Cardinals hitting .188 with eight homers and 27 RBIs, 28th amongst the 30 teams.

“We talked to Detroit,” Cashman said. “They set a high price and to be honest that was not something we were unable to get them off of what they said might work, but at the same time they were communicating that it also might not even win the day and then they kind of went silent, I think after they got what they were looking for.”

Garcia was in the lineup at first base and batting third after hitting a career-high .283 in his first season as a full-time first baseman with Washington. Garcia’s average is the highest on the Yankees, who began Monday with a .232 average and hitting .219 in 53 games since losing captain Aaron Judge two months ago.

“I think it has been one of the keys to how the season has played out so far,” Garcia said Monday through a translator. “Before I used to hit the ball very well, but a lot of the times it was on the ground. So I think one of the focuses was to get the ball in the air and keep hitting it with the same intensity; but lift it up and better results have come.”

Besides the batting average, Garcia also joined the Yankees after hitting a career-high 23 homers and producing a career-best 78 RBIs. He was third in the big leagues with a .560 slugging percentage behind new teammate Ben Rice and Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez while also hitting .330 with runners in scoring position.

“As good a year as he’s having, leading the league in slugging percentage over there, we think there’s more in there potentially in our ballpark,” manager Aaron Boone said. “So it’s exciting. We needed to inject a presence in our order, and we think we’ve done that in a big way.”

Garcia appeared in 93 games at first base with the Nationals and will share time with Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt at first and as the designated hitter. He struggled defensively as a second baseman at times before moving over to first base full-time.

The 26-year-old Garcia was born in New York and said his favorite Yankees growing up were Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano. His father Luis Garcia Sr. appeared in eight games with the Tigers in 1999 and spent 10 seasons in the minor leagues from 1993 to 2002.

The Yankees needed another outfielder after losing Cody Bellinger to a strained left hamstring July 25, and Ramos batted .264 with nine homers and 34 RBIs in 74 games for the Giants. He also had an .835 OPS against left-handed pitching and slugged 43 homers in the previous two seasons.

“They have a lot of history,” Ramos said. “It’s obviously going to have a big place in my heart, but at the end of the day, I’m very happy to be a New York Yankee.”

The Yankees sent starting pitcher Henry LaLane and infielder Kaeden Kent to the Giants for Ramos, who is not eligible for free agency until 2030.

LaLane was recently promoted to Single-A Hudson Valley and was New York’s fifth-best prospect, according to MLB pipeline. Kent, the son of recently inducted Hall of Famer Jeff Kent, was batting .302 this season at Hudson Valley.

New York began Monday 27-26 since Judge last played May 31. The slugger is still awaiting another scan to determine when he can start baseball activities.

“It’s always possible that things don't go the way you want, but we currently are still very optimistic he’s going to return,” Cashman said about Judge.

The Yankees have been without Giancarlo Stanton since April 24 due to a strained right calf and lost Bellinger for four to six weeks when he was injured in Philadelphia.

“One of the first areas of need was to try and upgrade the offense in any way, shape or form in any way we can while waiting for important players to come back at the same time off the IL,” Cashman said.

To make room for Garcia, the Yankees optioned Max Schuemann to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre. New York also recalled reliever Kervin Castro from Triple-A to take the spot of Yovanny Cruz, who was sent to Washington for Garcia.

AP Freelance Reporter Jeff Miller contributed to this report

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