Following up his 2017 trade deadline that propelled the New York Yankees to the ALCS, Brian Cashman was cooking. In the middle of the 2018 season, Cashman brought in Zack Britton, Andrew McCutchen, Lance Lynn, JA Happ, Brandon Drury and Luke Voit.

Remember Voit?! He was the home run king in 2020 and immediately became a fan favorite after being acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals for Chasen Shreve and Giovanny Gallegos.

Why are we talking about Voit? Why are we bringing up bad memories about how his Yankees tenure ended? Well, because the Atlanta Braves signed Shreve to the minor-league contract on Monday, and honestly Yankees fans completely forgot the left-hander was even still around.

Originally acquired from the Braves, Shreve spent 3.5 seasons in New York and had the best run of his career, logging a 3.92 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 201 strikeouts in 174 2/3 innings. But he wasn’t exactly a premier bullpen arm, so the Yankees used him as trade fodder when the time came.

And Cashman struck gold, sending Shreve and an unproven pitcher in Gallegos to St. Louis for Voit, who showed a ton of promise early in his career despite injury troubles.

Remembering the Yankees-Luke Voit trade after recent Chasen Shreve news

Like Shreve, Voit had his best run in New York. He was dominant in his first 39 games after coming over at the trade deadline, slugging 14 homers and driving in 33 runs while batting .333 with a 1.095 OPS.

The following season he dealt with a hernia issue, but he appeared in 118 games and hit .263/.378/.464 with 21 homers and 62 RBI. In 2020, he was the regular season home run champ despite dealing with “foot stuff.” He blasted 22 round trippers and finished with a .277/.338/.610 line.

But then came 2021. Voit dealt with some more injury troubles and the Yankees couldn’t quit him faster. They traded for Anthony Rizzo at the deadline and quickly pushed Voit to the side, creating an awkward situation involving two players who deserved starting reps. But it was clear Voit was going to be the odd man out, and he was. Eventually traded to the San Diego Padres that offseason, Voit pretty much fell off the face of the earth and hasn’t been in MLB since a 22-game stint with the Brewers in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Yankees went on to invest over $60 million in Rizzo, who many would argue turned out to be, in some ways, an underwhelming version of Voit. Was Voit’s defense great? No. Did he strike out a lot? Yup. But how much different was he than the average Yankees player? The team’s entire formula is acquiring bad defenders with high strikeout numbers and prominent power/on-base abilities.

One of the few times Cashman pulled off a clear heist that immediately changed the complexion of the roster somehow ended up getting spoiled for what was believed to be an unmistakable upgrade in the form of a declining Rizzo. Thanks for the reminder, Shreve.