• He won’t be trading for another starting pitcher while Andy Pettitte’s on the disabled list. Sergio Mitre, he explained, is on the team for just this reason, and he’d “be in most other teams’ starting rotations.” That they attempted to acquire Cliff Lee doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily go after another starter, he explained, because Lee “was a special case.”
• He’s “not optimistic” about acquiring bullpen help, not because he doesn’t think he needs it, but because he believes the price will prove to be too high.
• And Joba Chamberlain won’t be considered for a rotation spot. Said Cashman: “Sergio Mitre outpitched Joba Chamberlain for the starting rotation competition in spring training anyway.”
Of course, less than two weeks before the trading deadline, anything coming from the mouth of a general manager should be taken with a grain of salt. Except the thing about Joba going back to the rotation this year. That’s definitely not happening.