Brian Cashman continues to build bullpens with latest trade

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is great at his job. You don’t become the Yankees’ GM at age 30 in 1998 and stick around this long by accident. From landing top free agents to shrewd trades to solid player development, the man knows what he’s doing.

And if there’s one thing that Cashman probably does better than any front office executive? It’s build bullpens from the ground up. His playbook is a weird mishmosh of scouting both college and international arms, plus trades that make little sense on paper but pay off later. This is how, over the years, guys like Jonathan Loaisiga, Chad Green, and even current Padres ace Michael King became household names. King especially. These three are among hundreds who’ve made their bones in the Yankee ‘pen.

Which brings us to Cashman’s latest venture in this department. On Sunday, Andrew Golden of the Baltimore Banner reported the Yankees traded infield prospect Jorbit Vivas to the Nationals for righty Sean Paul Liñan. Vivas, 25, debuted last year at age 24 and hit .161 with a home run in 29 games. Otherwise, he’s a barely average bat with a solid middle infield glove.

Liñan, meanwhile, is a different story. He is 21 and posted a 3.03 ERA in 19 games (15 starts) across four levels in the Dodgers and Nationals organizations. What stands out for him, however, are the strikeouts. He fanned 106 hitters in just 77.1 innings. The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty, citing Baseball America, commented Liñan’s fastball was “mediocre,” but his changeup showed shades of Devin Williams. And despite his struggles in the Bronx, anyone paying attention to Devin Williams knows his “Airbender” changeup is filthy when it’s working.

So what does this mean for the Yankees? Simple. Wait and see. Odds are Brian Cashman will start Sean Paul Liñan at Double-A Somerset before eventually promoting him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Hell, there might even be a narrow path to his MLB debut this season. If the Yankees organization can add some life to his fastball, all the better.

People love the old saying that “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade,” but Brian Cashman clearly subscribes to a similar philosophy. When life hands you middling youth, flip them for elite arms. This is how the Yankees turned former outfield prospect (And subsequent washout) Blake Rutherford into Tommy Kahnle. Or Mike Tauchman into Wandy Peralta. Random draft calculus into Nestor Cortes.

Sean Paul Liñan is just the latest project undertaken by Cashman. All signs point to the veteran executive being right again.