Until Cashman is done, we cannot judge the Ottavino dump to Boston

Sad how the Yankiverse yesterday seemed to turn on Adam Ottavino. 

Yeesh. A Brooklyn boy. Came home. Bullpen lug nut. Solid clubhouse presence. To hear the buzz following his trade to Boston, you'd think he was Randy Keisler after the snakebite: Aaron Boone no longer trusted him.  No bite on his slider. Not worth the money. You'd think Ottavino traded himself to Boston. But his 2020 - a short season for long conclusions - is a tale of two meltdowns:

On Aug. 20 against Tampa Bay, he gave up 3 earned runs in 2/3rds of an inning, blowing a winnable game. His ERA jumped from 1.08 to 4.00. Painful.

On Sept. 7 against Toronto, he gave up 6 earned runs without recording an out. Ouch. His ERA exploded from 3.95 to 7.82, and he never recovered, finishing at 5.89. (Even sadder: Boone left him in. Ottavino didn't complain.)

Delete those two games, and Ottavino finishes the season with 17.1 innings and an ERA around 1.50. Best on the bullpen.

But that's cheating, eh? We don't get to delete the Mulligans. Those were horrible losses to division rivals, and Ottavino spit the bit, shat the bed, ate the baby, mooned the pope, etc. Randy Keisler after the rattlesnake.  

He'd also stumbled at the end of 2019, when his ERA jumped from 1.64 in early September to finish at 1.90. He became Exhibit A in our vastly disappointing bullpen, which has now lost two walk-off seasons in a row. Will Ottavino become Boston's closer? Maybe. Did the Yankees give him away? Yeah. Will Frank German, the prospect we threw in, be any good? Possibly. Will we look back on this deal and wince? Fukkinay, yeah. We just sold off a pitcher to save Hal Steinbrenner a few coins.

Listen: I don't wanna be the brat who finds shit under the Xmas tree and yells, "There must be a pony!" But I believe Brian Cashman has something in mind. The Yanks just cleared $8 million in salary cap space - why call it anything else? - so Hal can avoid his all-important luxury taxes. 

Part of the money might bring back Brett Gardner, at 38, whom we love and respect, yatta-yatta, but... really? 

If we re-sign Gardy - he becomes what? a lefty platoon, a defensive OF? Suddenly, there is no room for Clint Frazier, Miguel Andujar, Mike Tauchman, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Gardy and the new guy, Greg Allen, who brings superior speed and defense. Under the current crush, Andujar or Frazier could end up opening their seasons in Scranton - Scranton! No, no, nooooooo... that simply must not happen! 

The fault line this winter has always been Frazier/Andujar. Both are potential stars. Both have owner-friendly contracts. A young team could build around either. But the Yankees - even if we anticipate the usual injuries - cannot keep them both. One will die on the vine.

The Yankees need pitching, pitching, pitching... particularly a starter who is not recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery.

For better or worse, I believe Cashman will soon make his biggest move of the winter. 

Only then can we judge the Ottavino salary dump. Because right now, it sucks.