Yankees tried to convince Cardinals to push Dodgers out of blockbuster trade

The Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday got to work in the trade market.

They re-acquired Amed Rosario from the Tampa Bay Rays to give their lineup some depth and defensive versatility. They also executed a three-team deal that saw former Chicago White Sox reliever Michael Kopech and St. Louis Cardinals utility man Tommy Edman join the Dodgers.

In the three-team trade, the White Sox acquired Miguel Vargas, a pair of top-25 prospects and a player to be named later from the Dodgers, while the Cardinals snagged starting pitcher Erick Fedde, Tommy Pham, and cash considerations from the White Sox. The massive three-way deal was nearly derailed for the Dodgers thanks to the involvement of the New York Yankees.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees tried blowing up the deal for LA by offering starting pitcher Nestor Cortes to the Cardinals in exchange for Edman. The utility man would've helped New York solve their third base problem without having to move the recently acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr. to a new position at the hot corner.

While Cortes has had a handful of really good years in New York, this season has been rough as he's missing fewer barrels and allowing the highest batting average, hard contact rate, and average exit velocity of his career with the Yankees. He's also striking out batters at the lowest rate of his career in the Bronx per Baseball Reference.

Perhaps the Yankees were hopeful that Cortes being two years younger with a better Major League Baseball track record would sway St. Louis. It's a tough sell considering what Fedde has done this year.

While Cortes has had a rocky season on the mound, Fedde has put together by far the best season of his career to post the 10th-highest WAR among starting pitchers in the American League according to FanGraphs. Virtually every other number on the standard or advanced stat sheet is the best of Fedde's career.

The Cardinals made their moves because they want to win now. That desperation combined with the Yankees' inability to sell Cortes as a desirable win-now asset is the key reason the Dodgers wound up landing their much-needed utility man.

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