BOSTON _ Addressing reporters nearly a month ago, Brian Cashman was in the early stages working the phones trying to upgrade the Yankees pitching staff.
The prices, he said then, were exorbitant.
Less than a week before Wednesday's trade deadline that hasn't changed.
"Haven't done anything, so that'd be pretty reflective of prices haven't matched up for us," the GM said on the field before Friday night's game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Cashman reiterated what he said before that Yankees game June 30 in London _ that he would like to add a starter and a reliever.
"I'd certainly like to reinforce our club and add to it if possible but, again, the circumstances, our conversations with opposing teams, have to match up and so far that hasn't happened," Cashman said Friday.
And the awful performance of the rotation the last time through _ "it's a bad stretch, clearly," Cashman said _ doesn't increase his sense of urgency to make a move.
"We've entered this process and the deadline with a pretty good feel of what we'd like to do, what we're willing to pay for it and also having the built-in discipline of walking away if we don't find the right matches under those circumstances," Cashman said. "And that's regardless of what's happened the last week."
With far more teams in search of pitching help _ both starters and relievers _ than available players, the prices don't figure to come down too dramatically before Wednesday's 4 p.m. deadline, though expectations in the industry is for a flurry of moves the final 24-48 hours.
One example to keep in mind regarding pricing: when the Yankees a couple of weeks ago inquired with the Tigers about left-hander Matthew Boyd, Detroit asked for Gleyber Torres. It remains a seller's market, with selling teams looking to exact a pound of flesh or more.
"We're definitely going to continue to look, whether it's 'pen or rotation and if we can (make a move), great," Cashman said. "And if we can't, then we'll go with what we've got."
