Trade Deadline Archives - Page 3 of 68

The Brewers and a solution to the Sonny Gray problem

August 7, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Six days ago the Yankees moved Sonny Gray to the bullpen following a disaster start against the lowly Orioles, a disaster start in which he allowed seven runs in only 2.2 innings. Gray has not pitched since that game — to be fair, he wasn’t available until Saturday — and, frankly, I have no idea when the Yankees could use him. Has to be mop-up duty in a loss — I’m not sure I even trust Sonny in a blowout win — or extra innings only, right?

Anyway, Gray remains on the roster as a break glass in case of emergency reliever even though Brian Cashman did have a chance to move Gray at the trade deadline. During a radio interview last week Cashman explained he didn’t want to trade Gray just for the sake of trading him. A partial transcript:

“I think teams look at (Gray) and say, ‘alright, we have somebody who’s struggling in this environment, in New York — which has happened — and they have gone on elsewhere to pitch effectively or return to form. We understand and see that time and time again. So I had definitely teams that were in contention and teams that were not in contention because of his control year next year that asked about Sonny Gray because they know what his capabilities are and that his stuff is still the same. But the approached it in a buy-low situation where it did not make any sense … I was not presented with anything that would make me feel like I missed an opportunity or I should have done something.”

At this point it is very tough to see Gray remaining with the Yankees next season, or even possibly through the end of this season. You hate to trade away pitching depth, but Sonny has pitched so poorly that I’m not sure the Yankees can rely on him as depth anyway. Lance Lynn is in the rotation now and J.A. Happ is coming back soon, plus Chance Adams showed enough over the weekend to get another spot start should one be needed.

Trades are still possible in August, they just require trade waivers, which complicate things slightly. Long story short, players who clear trade waivers can be traded anywhere at any time. Players who are claimed on trade waivers can only be traded to the claiming team within 48 hours. Gray is making $6.5M this season, of which roughly $2.1M is still owed to him, and I think that’s enough to get him through waivers unclaimed. The overwhelming majority of players clear trade waivers anyway.

Clearly, Gray has fallen out of favor with the Yankees, and truth be told he would almost certainly benefit from a change of scenery as well. I’m not a big believer in the whole “he can’t handle New York” stuff, but, at this point, Sonny could probably use a change. A fresh start with a new team, etc. etc. I’m going to do something now I rarely do around here: Propose a trade. My proposal:

Brewers get: Sonny Gray
Yankees get: Keon Broxton and pitching prospect Zack Brown

My trade proposal sucks. I am fully aware of that and I welcome the ridicule and the overwhelming potential to look dumb. I don’t do the whole “here’s a very specific trade” idea thing often though, and I figured I’d indulge myself. Gray to the Brewers for Broxton and Brown. Two-for-one. Let’s talk it out.

Why the Brewers?

At 65-50, the Brewers have the third best record in the National League and they’re 1.5 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central. They have a need in their rotation with Jimmy Nelson (shoulder surgery), Zach Davies (back), and Brent Suter (Tommy John surgery) all on the disabled list and not due back anytime soon, and they’re loaded with outfielders. They traded top 100-ish prospect Brett Phillips for Mike Moustakas and still have this outfield depth chart:

Christian Yelich
Lorenzo Cain
Eric Thames
Ryan Braun
Domingo Santana (in Triple-A)
Keon Broxton (in Triple-A)

The Brewers had interest in Gray last season. I didn’t randomly pick them as a trade partner. There’s been interest here in the not-too-distant past. The Yankees and Brewers were the two teams vying for Sonny at the deadline last year. The A’s wanted a close-to-MLB center fielder in the trade package and the Yankees made Dustin Fowler available while the Brewers reportedly said no to Lewis Brinson, and that was that. (Brinson went to the Marlins in the Yelich trade over the winter.)

Furthermore, Brewers pitching coach Derek Johnson was Gray’s pitching coach at Vanderbilt back in the day and the two are very close. “He’s a pretty special person to me. He was one of those father-figure types you hear people talk about — especially at an important part of my life,” said Gray to Mark Chiarelli in 2016. The Brewers need a starter, they have outfield depth to spare, they had interest in Gray last year, and he’s close with their pitching coach. And he’ll remain under team control as an arbitration-eligible player last year. It fits.

Why Broxton?

The Yankees went from having plenty of outfield depth to starting Shane Robinson in five of their last ten games in a hurry. Aaron Judge is injured and it doesn’t seem he’ll return in the original three-week time frame. Clint Frazier is out with post-concussion migraines and there’s no telling when he’ll return. Giancarlo Stanton is nursing a tight hamstring. Billy McKinney was traded away. Jacoby Ellsbury? Hah.

The Yankees really need another outfielder and Broxton, while flawed, is an upgrade over Robinson. The 28-year-old is a very good defensive center fielder and he’s a right-handed hitter with a history of punishing left-handed pitchers. The career big league numbers:

	PA	AVG/OBP/SLG	wRC+	HR	BB%	K%
vs. RHP	529	.215/.297/.404	82	22	9.1%	36.9%
vs. LHP	245	.242/.362/.449	115	9	15.9%	35.4%
Total	774	.223/.317/.418	93	31	11.2%	36.4%

Yeah, Broxton strikes out a ton and the Yankees don’t really need more strikeouts to the lineup, but they also don’t need more Shane Robinson in the lineup either. Robinson, despite hitting the home run last week and having that tough sac bunt attempt turned walk Sunday night, can’t hit. Broxton will at least draw walks and hit lefties, on top of the defensive upgrade.

The Brewers have no spot for Broxton on their roster and he’s spent pretty much the entire season in Triple-A, where he’s hitting .260/.329/.422 (95 wRC+) in 310 plate appearances. This is his final minor league option year as well, and it’s hard to see where he fits on next year’s roster. The guy is already 28 and he’ll be out of options next year. Chances are the Brewers will be looking to trade him over the winter or next spring before losing him on waivers.

The Yankees could replace Robinson with Broxton right away and, at the very least, platoon him with Brett Gardner. The Judge injury and Stanton’s lingering hamstring issue means he’d probably get a fair amount of playing time the next few weeks. The Brewers don’t have a spot for him and it is unlikely he’s in their long-term plans. Broxton is an expendable piece for Milwaukee and an upgrade over Robinson for the Yankees.

Why Brown?

The 23-year-old Brown was a fifth round pick in 2016 and he is currently in Double-A, where he has a 2.34 ERA (3.40 FIP) with 24.4% strikeouts, 7.2% walks, and 56.4% grounders. Great numbers! Baseball America (subs. req’d) did not rank Brown among Milwaukee’s top ten prospects in their recent update though, and MLB.com ranks him as the 12th best prospect in the system. Their scouting report:

He pitches with a 92-95 mph fastball to both sides of the plate … He’s adept at manipulating the pitch, too, as he’ll turn it over to create sinking action at times while reaching back for extra velo with his four-seamer as dictated by the situation. His curveball, though currently underused, is a plus pitch, and he also has feel for a promising changeup that contrasts nicely against his heater … Brown’s detractors believe that he’ll end up in the bullpen on account of his high-effort delivery.

Brown fits the mold of a quality ‘tweener pitching prospect. Can he master a changeup? Will the delivery hold up as a starter? If not, he’ll end up a reliever, potentially a very good one. Brown’s a notch below where Dillon Tate was before the Yankees traded him, and he’s about two notches below where Chance Adams was in 2016, just for reference. The results are better than the scouting report, but the scouting report is still pretty good. Here’s some video:

The trade boils down to Gray for a fourth outfielder and a second tier pitching prospect. Considering what the Yankees gave up to get Gray, it’s a big net loss. Sonny is a sunk cost though. The Yankees made the trade and he’s pitched terribly. They can either stick it out and try to make it work — that wouldn’t be crazy, in my opinion — or cut their losses and turn him into usable pieces. Broxton helps now and Brown could help later.

For all intents and purposes, the trade is Gray for Brown. Broxton is a spare part without a ton of trade value. He’s closer to 30 than 25 and he’ll be out of options next year, and he’s been unable to carve out a big league role despite extending playing time in 2016 and 2017. Guys like that don’t fetch much on the trade market, even a reclamation project starter like Gray. Sonny’s track record and extra year of control have real value.

The Brewers get a starter with a strong track record and get to reunite him with his college pitching coach, and they give up an extraneous outfielder and a good pitching prospect from a deep farm system. The Yankees give up an out-of-favor pitcher, upgrade their short-term outfield situation, and add a pitching prospect who could help as soon as next year. Also, trading Gray opens a bullpen spot for Tommy Kahnle. It all makes sense to me, but, then again, my trade proposal sucks.

Thoughts following the 2018 trade deadline

August 1, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The 2018 non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone. The Yankees made six trades within the last week, five of which directly impacted the MLB roster, though they did not sneak in one last move prior to yesterday’s 4pm ET deadline. Lame! Not a big deal though. Let’s get to some deadline thoughts.

1. Perhaps my favorite thing about the trade deadline moves is that they Yankees fully committed to Miguel Andujar at third base. He doesn’t have to look over his shoulder at Brandon Drury anymore. The Yankees originally acquired Drury because they weren’t completely sold on Andujar — I could be completely wrong here, though that’s what it seemed like to me, and I don’t think it was unreasonable — and now, five months later, Drury gets moved and Andujar is the man at the hot corner. He’s earned it too. The kid’s hitting .292/.324/.497 (120 wRC+) with 45 extra-base hits in 94 games. Yeah, I wish he walked more and I wish he had more range defensively, but there’s so much to like about Andujar. The Yankees made their third base pick and said here you go kid, the position is yours the rest of the season while we’re in this division race. They’re showing a lot of confidence in him. Will that confidence still exist when Manny Machado becomes a free agent after the season? We’ll see. For now, the Yankees just gave Andujar a big vote of confidence. I love it.

2. As for things I didn’t love, I didn’t love effectively salary dumping Adam Warren — salary dumping him on another AL contender, no less — and I still don’t love it even after the other shoe dropped and the Yankees added Lance Lynn. Warren’s pretty good! Has been for a while and I don’t really trust A.J. Cole to fill that role. That said, what I think doesn’t matter. The Yankees made that series of moves for two reasons. One, Lynn is better able to move into the rotation than Warren, if necessary. And two, they probably believe there isn’t much of a difference between Warren and Lynn as a reliever. Lynn’s numbers as a starter this season aren’t great (5.10 ERA and 4.72 FIP), but let him air it out for an inning or two in relief and good things could happen. We’re only talking about maybe 20 innings the rest of the season, so any difference between Warren and Lynn is unlikely to be significant, and the fact Lynn can start makes it worth it.

3. Speaking of Lynn starting, my guess is it’ll happen quite a bit in the coming weeks, especially once rosters expand in September. Heck, the Yankees might go with a full blown six-man rotation in September. Last night’s game kicked off a 20 games in 20 days stretch and I’d put money on Lynn making a start or two during this stretch to give the other starters a little extra rest. Same when the Yankees play 14 games in 13 days in a few weeks. Luis Severino might be hitting a wall here in the second half, and any little bit of extra rest the Yankees can give CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka is worthwhile. The balancing act won’t be easy — how do you keep Lynn stretched out to start when he’s sitting in the bullpen for weeks at a time? — but I don’t think this was a spur of the moment trade. The Yankees have a plan in place. They brought Lynn in specifically because he can start and relieve, and they already have an idea how they’ll use him the rest of the season.

4. No team in baseball throws fewer fastballs than the Yankees. Going into last night’s game their 44.8% fastball rate was the lowest in baseball. The Indians were a distant second at 49.4%. Bendy pitches are hard to hit, so the Yankees throw a lot of them. Now here are the pitchers with the highest fastball rates in baseball this year:

Bartolo Colon: 79.0%
Lance Lynn: 76.7%
J.A. Happ: 74.5%
Junior Guerra: 70.8%
Trevor Williams: 70.2%

Hmmm. The anti-fastball Yankees just picked up two of the most extreme fastball pitchers in the game. Happ threw 78.1% fastballs the other day, so the Yankees haven’t changed him (yet). And I don’t think they will. Same with Lynn. They are fastball pitchers. They succeed by throwing a lot of fastballs. Why change it? They’re rentals. Stick with what works for them. I don’t think the Yankees made a concerted effort to add fastball pitchers at the trade deadline. I think that’s just kinda how the market shook out. If nothing else, Happ and Lynn will bring a much different dynamic to the pitching staff.

5. I am very glad the Yankees were able to keep Clint Frazier. Yes, his post-concussion migraines and the fact there was no controllable high-end starter available played a big part in that, but I’m still glad Frazier was able to stick around. “He survived this deadline and he survived the winter because we do value him,” said Brian Cashman to Bryan Hoch yesterday. It’s still unclear where exactly Frazier fits long-term — letting Brett Gardner go and sticking Clint in left field next year is the easy move, though I’d bet the farm on Gardner being a Yankees in 2019 — though there’s no need to figure that out now. Let him get healthy and get some at-bats before the season ends, then evaluate things in the offseason and Spring Training. I’m just glad Frazier is still around. Gary Sanchez joined the lineup in 2016 and had an impact. Aaron Judge did it last year. Gleyber Torres and Andujar are doing it this year. Frazier can do it next year. It’s fun to think about. Very happy Clint is still a Yankee. The more young talent, the better.

6. The Yankees really cleaned up their 40-man roster at the deadline. They traded four prospects who were going to have to be added to the 40-man after the season (Cody Carroll, Caleb Frare, Josh Rogers, Dillon Tate) as well as three guys who figured to end up on the 40-man chopping block (Tyler Austin, Gio Gallegos, Billy McKinney). That creates flexibility during the season and will also make life easy when Rule 5 Draft protection times in November. I know it’s easy to say most Rule 5 Draft picks don’t stick, which is absolutely true, but there is a lot of selection bias there. The best players, the ones with the best chances to stick, are either added to the 40-man roster or traded ahead of time. Guys like Carroll and Rogers and Tate have a much better chance of sticking as a Rule 5 Draft pick than someone like, say, Anyelo Gomez or Nestor Cortes. At the moment the Yankees have one open 40-man spot with two more easily available by dropping Ryan Bollinger — Bollinger was called up yesterday because Lynn had yet to arrive and the Yankees didn’t want to play with a 24-man roster last night — and sliding Jordan Montgomery to the 60-day DL. A few weeks ago the 40-man roster was real tight and the Yankees were at risk of losing useful players for nothing on waivers. That is no longer a concern.

7. What are the Yankees going to do with those 40-man roster spots? Well, that remains to be seen, but I absolutely expect one of them to go to Justus Sheffield before the end of the season. He might only be a September call-up to work low-leverage spots out of the bullpen — the Happ and Lynn additions make it less likely Sheffield is needed as a starter now, and I am totally cool with that — and that’s fine. Letting a young pitcher get his feet wet as a reliever in September is a-okay with me. Point is, we’re going to see Sheffield in the big leagues at some point soon. We could also see some other young pitchers get those 40-man roster spots in September, like maybe Chance Adams or Stephen Tarpley, but Sheffield is the big one. He’s the best prospect in the organization and anytime you’re talking about a lefty with mid-90s gas and a wipeout slider pitching out of the bullpen, there’s going to be a chance for him to carve out a role quickly. Hey, maybe Sheffield can be the Yankees’ version of the 2002 Francisco Rodriguez. K-Rod came up as a September call-up in 2002, completely dominated, and the Angels had no choice but to carry him on the postseason roster. That’d be cool, though the Yankees have enough quality arms in the bullpen. We’ll see. I do think Sheffield is coming up at some point. The deadline moves helped clear a 40-man spot.

8. The Yankees traded a surprising among out of pitching depth at the deadline, huh? Warren, Gallegos, Carroll, and Chasen Shreve were all traded away. Three dudes with big league time this year and a fourth who was a phone call away. Rogers and I suppose even Tate could’ve been call-up options if necessary. Instead, the Yankees traded them all away. And to be fair, the Yankees did get three big league pitchers in return. It’s just kinda weird to see so much MLB pitching depth traded away. This tells me two things. One, the Yankees feel pretty darn good about kids like Sheffield and Adams and Tarpley as call-up options. And two, Tommy Kahnle is not a forgotten man. Reports indicate Kahnle is still more 95-96 mph with Triple-A Scranton rather than 98-99 mph like last year, and that is kinda worrisome, but 95-96 mph is still plenty good enough to get outs. Gallegos was the primary up-and-down reliever this year. Whenever the Yankees needed a 26th man for a doubleheader or just an extra arm for a few days, he got the call. I think Kahnle might be that guy now. That the Yankees traded away a decent amount of pitching depth and still have a guy like Kahnle — even a slightly reduced version of Kahnle — in reserve at Triple-A is pretty awesome.

9. Thanks to the recent trades the Yankees have maxed out their 2018-19 international bonus pool at $8,721,125. They’ve already signed a bunch of international free agents and it sounds like more signings are coming. The Yankees could be gearing up for a run at much ballyhooed Cuban outfielder Victor Victor Mesa — he’s still waiting to be cleared by MLB, so his signing is not imminent — though I think the Yankees traded for all that bonus money with the intention of using it on other players. Other teams are going to have more bonus money to offer Victor² and I will always bet on the team that offers the most money getting the player. Shohei Ohtani was a very unique case. Cuban players have a history of going to the highest bidder and that is totally cool. That’s what I’d do. Because of that, I think the Yankees have other signings lined up for all that bonus money. Either way, the Yankees typically do very well in Latin America, so I’m excited to see where they go. This trade deadline was as much as bolstering the MLB roster with Britton, Happ, and Lynn as it was about adding future talent to the organization through international free agency.

10. The trade deadline has passed but that does not mean the deal-making is over. Trades are still possible in August through trade waivers and, because the Yankees did not get the right-handed hitting outfielder they were said to be seeking, there’s a chance they’ll be active on trade rumors. A righty hitting outfielder and a catcher. Those are the two items atop the shopping list right now. The Yankees have two obstacles to navigate with trade waivers. One, only the Red Sox have a lower waiver priority. The Indians and Astros and Mariners and every other non-Red Sox team can place a claim to block a player from going to the Yankees. Happens all the time. At the same time, the Yankees can block a player from going to the Red Sox, so that’s cool. And two, the Yankees have to watch their claims because of the luxury tax plan. When you claim a player, you have to be prepared in case the other team dumps him and his contract on you, even when it seems unlikely. The Yankees won’t be able to claim Andrew McCutchen because the Giants might dump the remainder of his $14.75M salary on them and blow up the luxury tax plan. Making trades in August is always more complicated than making trades before the deadline, but it’s not impossible. The Yankees just have to watch their claims this year because of the luxury tax plan, which may put them at a disadvantage.

Yankees make no additional deals prior to trade deadline

July 31, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The 2018 non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone and the Yankees did not sneak in one last trade prior to today’s 4pm ET. They were still very active — perhaps the most active team, really — prior to the deadline. The Yankees made six trades in the last seven days, five of which directly impact the big league roster:

Dillon Tate, Josh Rogers, and Cody Carroll for Zach Britton. (RAB post)
Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney for J.A. Happ. (RAB post)
Chasen Shreve and Gio Gallegos for Luke Voit and $1M in international bonus money. (RAB post)
Caleb Frare for $1.5M in international bonus money. (RAB post)
Adam Warren for $1.25M in international bonus money. (RAB post)
Tyler Austin and Luis Rijo for Lance Lynn. (RAB post)

Trades can still be made in August (and September), remember. They just require trade waivers, which can be a headache. The Yankees figure to monitor the market for a right-handed hitting outfielder (because Aaron Judge is hurt) and a catcher (because Gary Sanchez is hurt), though they are not urgent matters. They can definitely be addressed in August.

Ultimately, the Yankees got the rotation depth they needed in Happ and Lynn, though they were unable to land that high-end impact starter with long-term control. That pitcher wasn’t really available, depending on your opinion of Chris Archer and Kevin Gausman. Add Britton bolsters the bullpen as well, plus all that international bonus money will be put to good use. All things considered, a successful deadline for the Yankees. Onward.

2018 Trade Deadline Rumors: Tuesday

July 31, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

A lefty bat worth squeezing between Judge and Stanton. (Rob Carr/Getty)

The 2018 non-waiver trade deadline is 4pm ET today and wow have the Yankees been busy. The busiest team in baseball over the last week or so, right? Feels like it. The Yankees have completed six trades in the last six days, some more impactful than others. A recap:

Dillon Tate, Josh Rogers, and Cody Carroll for Zach Britton. (RAB post)
Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney for J.A. Happ. (RAB post)
Chasen Shreve and Gio Gallegos for Luke Voit and $1M in international bonus money. (RAB post)
Caleb Frare for $1.5M in international bonus money. (RAB post)
Adam Warren for $1.25M in international bonus money. (RAB post)
Tyler Austin and Luis Rijo for Lance Lynn. (RAB post)

Eleven players out, four players and $3.75M worth of international bonus money in. Know what the crazy thing is? I am not at all convinced the Yankees are done. They could still use another outfielder (because Aaron Judge is hurt) as well as a catcher (because Gary Sanchez is hurt). Plus more pitching. I’d rather have too much than not enough.

We’re once again going to keep track of the day’s Yankees-related rumors right here, so make sure you check back for updates. The Yankees have made so many moves already that I can’t promise many rumors today, they might in fact be done, but I am open to being surprised. Chat about all the day’s trade deadline rumors and activity here.

2:28pm ET: The Yankees will not be getting Cameron Maybin. He’s been traded to the Mariners. The Yankees reportedly remain in the hunt for a right-handed outfield bat, however.
11:10am ET: The Yankees want a right-handed outfield bat to help cover for Judge, though they were not in on Tommy Pham, who was traded to the Rays. They want someone comfortable with a bench role. [Joel Sherman]
10:49am ET: The Yankees have “zero interest” in Matt Harvey, and that was even before the Happ and Lynn trades. Not surprised. I couldn’t see the Yankees bringing him back to New York, especially since there’s little reason to believe he can pitch well in Yankee Stadium. [Andy Martino]
10:36am ET: You can stop fantasizing about Harper now. “Bryce is not going anywhere. I believe in this team,” said Nationals GM Mike Rizzo this morning. [Chelsea Janes]
10:21am ET: The Yankees have discussed Brad Ziegler with the Marlins. Unless there would be another deal coming a la Warren/Lynn, I’m not sure where he fits. Maybe they’re trying to drive up the price for the Red Sox, who have been connected to Ziegler. [Feinsand]
10:20am ET: The Yankees are expected to add an outfielder today. Expecting to add an outfielder and actually adding an outfielder are two different things though. [Ken Rosenthal, Feinsand]
10:09am ET: The Yankees have spoken to the Mets about Jose Bautista. The Mets don’t want to give him away though, plus the chances of a Yankees-Mets trade are always small. [Heyman]
9:30am ET: In case you missed it last night, the Nationals have made Bryce Harper available. The Yankees haven’t checked in as far as we know, but still, this is pretty noteworthy. [Mark Feinsand]
9:30am ET: The Yankees are among the teams with interest in impending free agent Andrew McCutchen. The Giants insist they’re not ready to sell even though they’ve fallen out of the race. McCutchen is definitely someone who could be on the move in August. [Jon Morosi]
9:30am ET: The Yankees have also checked in on Curtis Granderson and Cameron Maybin, so they’re casting a wide net for an outfielder in the wake of Judge’s injury. I’d be all for a Granderson reunion. The R2C2 podcast episode alone would make it worth it. [Morosi, Jon Heyman]

Reminder: Your trade proposal sucks.

Yanks acquire Lance Lynn for Tyler Austin, pitching prospect

July 30, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Even with J.A. Happ on board, the Yankees have decided to add another starting pitcher. Tyler Austin and pitching prospect Luis Rijo have been traded to the Twins for right-hander Lance Lynn, it has been announced. It is a done deal. Officially official. Jon Heyman says the Twins are eating half Lynn’s salary.

“It’s the New York Yankees. As a fan of the game growing up, it’s exciting for me as a young kid, seeing them in their heyday winning a lot of World Series championships,” said Lynn to Dan Hayes. “You look at their team now, they’re going for it. I’m excited for that opportunity and that challenge. It’s going to be a different experience. I’m just going to go in there and try to do everything I can to help, whatever that may be.”

The Yankees shipped Adam Warren to the Mariners for international bonus money earlier today, so they essentially swapped Warren for Lynn on the roster. It breaks down like this:

Yankees get: Lynn and $1.25M in international bonus money
Yankees give up: Warren, Austin, Rijo

Lynn, 31, has a 5.10 ERA (4.73 FIP) with 21.3% strikeout rate and a 50.8% ground ball rate in 102.1 innings this season, all as a starter. His walk rate (13.2%) is way too high. It’s been high his entire career (career 9.4% walk rate), but never this high. Free passes are bad news, though at least Lynn mitigates them with strikeouts and grounders.

For what it’s worth, Lynn has pitched better since an ugly April — seems like all the free agents who signed late started slow this year — throwing 78.2 innings with a 4.12 ERA (4.16 FIP). Walk rate (11.1%) is still too high, though the strikeouts (21.0%) and grounders (50.6%) have been there. Clearly, the Yankees are banking on track record here. Lynn owns a career 3.54 ERA (3.74 FIP).

The Yankees presumably swapped Warren for Lynn because they believe Lynn is better capable of stepping into the rotation, if necessary. I don’t disagree with that. Lynn does have bullpen experience, though it’s been a while. The Cardinals regularly used him out of the bullpen in the postseason during their glory days from 2011-15.

Austin was made completely expendable by the recent Luke Voit pickup. They’re both 27-ish year old right-handed hitting first basemen. Austin will be out of minor league options after the season. Voit will not. So there you go. Voit replaces Austin as the up-and-down platoon first baseman going forward.

When Greg Bird was hurt earlier this year, Austin stepped up and hit .290/.362/.629 (166 wRC+) with five home runs in April. He wasn’t so good after that, finishing with a .223/.280/.471 (111 wRC+) line with eight homers and 40.2% strikeouts in 132 big league plate appearances before being sent to Triple-A. Austin was good when the Yankees needed him. Props.

Rijo, 19, has a 2.77 ERA (2.47 FIP) with 19.5% strikeouts and 1.8% walks in 39 rookie ball inning this season. He is not among MLB.com’s top 30 Yankees prospects and he wasn’t going to be on my upcoming post-draft top 30 prospects list. The Yankees literally have more pitching prospects than rotation spots in the minors. They’re loaded with kids like Rijo. No surprise they dealt from that depth.

As for the financials, the Warren trade combined with the Twins eating half Lynn’s salary makes this effectively cash neutral for the Yankees. They’re still about $3M under the $197M luxury tax threshold, give or take. Some of that needs to be saved for injury call-ups and September call-ups. I think Warren is better than Lynn, but what I think doesn’t matter, plus Lynn can start. Warren can’t. The Yankees added more length to the pitching staff today.

Yanks trade Warren to Mariners for international bonus money

July 30, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Rather than continue to add, the Yankees subtracted from their roster the day before the 2018 trade deadline. Adam Warren has been traded to the Mariners for international bonus money, both teams announced. Mark Feinsand says the Yankees are getting $1.25M. The trade is official.

It is entirely possible, if not likely, there are still other dominoes still to fall here. At the moment, the Yankees essentially salary dumped a reliable and versatile reliever in the middle of a postseason race. Salary dumped him to not just a fellow AL contender, but a team they could very well face in the AL Wild Card Game if they don’t win the AL East. Huh.

Warren, 30, has a 2.70 ERA (3.30 FIP) with 28.9% strikeouts and 9.4% walks in 30 innings around a lat injury this season. Typical Warren, basically. Boring, reliable. He was probably the seventh best reliever in the bullpen, but he might be Seattle’s third best. The Yankees save about $1.1M against the luxury tax in the trade.

Between the recent Warren ($1.25M), Caleb Frare ($1.25M), and Luke Voit ($1M) trades, the Yankees have maxed out their 2018-19 international bonus pool at $8,721,125. They started with $4,983,500 bonus pool and teams are allowed to add an additional 75% through trades. The Yankees have done that. Their pool is maxed out.

Most of the top international prospects have already signed, though top Cuban outfield prospect Victor Victor Mesa remains available. He has not yet been cleared to sign, but, if the Yankees are going to make a run at him, they’re in position to do so. They’ve added as much bonus money as possible. Here are the team’s other international signings.

2018 Trade Deadline Rumors: Monday

July 30, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The 2018 non-waiver trade deadline is one day away. The Yankees have already made several trades, most notably acquiring Zach Britton from the Orioles and J.A. Happ from the Blue Jays. Lot more early trades than usual this year, no? Not just the Yankees, all around baseball. Manny Machado, Brad Hand, Cole Hamels, Nathan Eovaldi, Jeurys Familia, Mike Moustakas … all traded already. Weird.

Anyway, even after adding Britton and Happ, the Yankees could still make some moves prior to tomorrow’s 4pm ET deadline. Aaron Judge will miss at least three weeks with a wrist injury, so the Yankees could look to bring in another bat. Also, another catcher could be in order too. Gary Sanchez might not return until September. Plus pitching depth. I’m sure they’re still open to adding a controllable starter.

“We haven’t peeled the onion enough to tell you exactly what we will do. If something presents itself that allows us flexibility and makes sense, we can evaluate that,” said Brian Cashman to Joel Sherman following the Judge injury. “I’m sure things will be thrown our way (now that Judge is out). We will see if anything makes sense as we navigate the marketplace before it closes.”

We’re going to keep track of all the day’s Yankees-related trade rumors right here. I can’t promise there were will be many of them because the Yankees have already addressed their most pressing needs with Britton and especially Happ, but I’m sure there will be some. Chat about all the day’s trade deadline rumors and activity right here.

4:48pm ET: It is “not likely” the Yankees will acquire Archer, which doesn’t surprise me. Non-rental intra-division trades can be complicated and so many other teams are in the mix that Tampa shouldn’t have trouble getting a strong offer. [Heyman]
12:22pm ET: The Yankees are among the teams to have shown the most interest in Zack Wheeler. The Mets have set a high price because he’s pitched well lately, though his injury history suggests a smaller return is warranted. [Heyman]
11:30am ET: The Yankees are among the main players for Chris Archer, along with the Padres, Dodgers, and Braves. Tampa Bay had scouts watching Justus Sheffield and Triple-A Scranton on Saturday. [Jon Heyman, Ken Rosenthal]
11:30am ET: Not surprisingly, the Yankees have interest in adding a bat in the wake of the Judge injury. Specifically, they’re looking for a right-handed hitter who can play the outfield. They’re looking, but it’s not considered a pressing need. [Heyman]
11:30am ET: The Braves are among the teams scouting Sonny Gray. The Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, and Phillies all had scouts at Yankee Stadium over the weekend. [Brendan Kuty, George King]

Reminder: Your trade proposal sucks.