The trade turned out to be a very good deal for the Yankees, as none of the three players the Yankees sent to the Cardinals ever reached the major leagues, and Javier was later included in the December 5, deal that brought them Rickey Henderson from the Oakland Athletics. Meacham, meanwhile, earned a major league promotion by June of his first season with his new club. He made his MLB debut on June 30, 1983, in the 12th inning of an extra-inning game against the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees won on a Butch Wynegar walk off home run before Meacham could log his first major league plate appearance. That did not occur until his third major league game — against the Seattle Mariners, on September 3, . He lined out to Mariners third baseman Manny Castillo. By the end of the season, Meacham had won the Yankees' starting shortstop job, appearing in a total of 22 games, while batting .235 in 51 at bats.