The league played a game of musical catchers chairs Monday, and when it stopped, the Yankees got left out.

The trade deadline came and went without the Yankees addressing their biggest positional need from an offensive standpoint — plus not adding a reliever for the first time since 2019 — making for an underwhelming final haul of first baseman/DH Luis García Jr. on Sunday and outfielder Heliot Ramos on Monday.

While García may have been the best bat dealt at the deadline — and an important addition for a scuffling lineup, despite not being a perfect positional fit — the Yankees were not able to land a catcher like their two biggest foes in the AL East or upgrade the bullpen, instead hoping that the two bats they acquired along with the injured stars they are banking on returning later in the season will be enough to give them a legitimate chance to chase a 28th championship in October.

“As we move forward in this, we do think we have the players … that can compete for a championship,” Cashman said Monday night, shortly after the deadline passed. “The effort we put forth was trying to find ways to upgrade it if we can in this marketplace and we’re happy we were able to bring in Ramos and García to solve some of the problems. We’re looking forward now to getting the other guys back from the IL over time to fortify and finish us off for a supercharge.”

To make matters worse for the Yankees — who entered Monday 2 ¹/₂ games back of the Rays for the division and best record in the American League — the two teams they are sandwiched between in the AL East both acquired catchers. The Red Sox landed Adley Rutschman from the Orioles and the Rays added Liam Hicks from the Marlins.

The Yankees made a push for the switch-hitting Rutschman, who is on the IL with a wrist issue, but were “unable to meet the price,” Cashman acknowledged, as the Red Sox got him instead for a hefty five-player package.

“Ultimately, at the end of the day, there was no opportunity that existed for us that we felt good enough about to be able to push through on,” Cashman said.

Two of the best offensive catchers in the game, the Rockies’ Hunter Goodman and the Twins’ Ryan Jeffers, did not get traded.

The Yankees also place a high value on Austin Wells’ game calling and his work with the pitching staff, which entered Monday with the lowest ERA in the majors, a partnership they did not necessarily want to mess with. Wells has been one of the worst hitters in the majors this season, though he has been better over the last few weeks, while the righty-hitting Ali Sánchez has been effective against lefties in a limited sample size.

Regarding the bullpen, Cashman pointed to the lack of high-impact relievers that actually moved (i.e., the Padres hung on to both Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon) and the fact that the Yankees could eventually have internal additions in Clarke Schmidt (finishing off his Tommy John rehab) and Will Warren or Ryan Weathers (if the rotation stays healthy by the time Carlos Rodón returns later this month).

As for Tarik Skubal, the back-to-back AL Cy Young winner acquired by the Dodgers, Cashman said he spoke with the Tigers but was unable to get them off of the “very specific ask and a certain player we weren’t willing to play with in that arena” — likely top prospect George Lombard Jr., whom the Yankees could call up this season to solve their issue at shortstop.

Of course, the Yankees already have the makings of a powerhouse rotation and instead approached the deadline knowing they needed help offensively, as they try to survive without Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton, likely until September. Cashman reiterated that their expectation is to get Judge back this season from a right rib stress fracture, but since he has still yet to be cleared for baseball activities, that is no guarantee.

Without Judge, the Yankees lineup has been a shell of itself. Since June 18 (two weeks after the back-to-back AL MVP landed on the IL), entering Monday, it ranked 30th in OPS (.618), 30th in batting average (.205), 30th in runs per game (3.3), 30th in strikeout percentage (27.7) and 30th in WRC+ (72).

So they acquired García, the lefty slugger who led the National League in slugging percentage, from the Nationals on Sunday and Ramos, the righty-hitting outfielder who helps against lefties, on Monday from the Giants in exchange for pitching prospect Henry Lalane and infielder Kaeden Kent.

“Ultimately, we got some of the best slug on both of these guys against opposite hands in the game as additions to our offensive lineup,” Cashman said. “So I think Aaron Boone has a chance to match up better than he did as of [Sunday] when we get both of these guys here on property.”