Los Angeles Dodgers Archives - River Avenue Blues

Yankees acquire utility man Tim Locastro from Dodgers

November 21, 2018 by Mike

In a minor trade, the Yankees have acquired utility man Tim Locastro from the Dodgers for minor league righty Drew Finley and cash considerations, the team announced. Los Angeles designated Locastro for assignment yesterday as part of their Rule 5 Draft protection deadline 40-man roster cleanup. The Yankees now have a full 40-man roster.

Locastro, 26, is a native New Yorker from Auburn. The former 13th round pick hit .279/.389/.409 (118 wRC+) with four homers, 18 steals, 14.6% strikeouts, and 7.4% walks in 83 Triple-A games this season. The right-handed hitter has a knack for getting hit by pitches. He averages — averages — 39 hit-by-pitches per 150 games in his career. Huh.

After starting his pro career as a middle infielder, Locastro is now a true utility guy with experience at every position except third base, right field, pitcher, and catcher. Supposedly he’s better in the outfield than on the infield. Locastro’s best tool is his speed. The dude can really run. He’s gone 2-for-12 (.167) in 21 career big league games.

The Yankees are currently stockpiling utility types with Didi Gregorius expected to miss the start of next year. They claimed Hanser Alberto off waivers and re-signed Gio Urshela. And don’t forget Tyler Wade and Ronald Torreyes. Now they’ve added Locastro, who has two minor league options remaining and figures to be an up-and-down guy.

Finley, 22, was the Yankees’ third round pick in 2015. He’s been dogged by injuries throughout his career and has a 5.47 ERA (5.37 FIP) in 120 minor league innings, all in short season leagues. Finley’s father David is the Dodgers vice president of international and amateur scouting. I imagine he had some input into the trade.

Three things the two 2018 World Series teams should reaffirm for the Yankees

October 23, 2018 by Mike

Later tonight the Red Sox and Dodgers will open the 2018 World Series at Fenway Park. The Red Sox are looking to win their fourth championship in the last 15 years. The Dodgers are trying to win their first World Series title in 30 years, since the iconic Kirk Gibson home run series. We’re all Dodgers fans this series, right? Right.

Anyway, this is the time of year when we start to see “this is what [team] should learn from the World Series teams” articles. I’ve done it myself. Multiple times. This is not one of those articles. What is there to learn from the Red Sox and Dodgers? Draft and develop well, be good at as many facets of the game as possible, and hope it all works out? Yeah. We knew that already.

The Yankees don’t need to learn anything from the Red Sox and Dodgers. Rather, there are a couple of things the Yankees already know that the Red Sox and Dodgers reinforce. Here, in no particular order, are three big picture ideas the Sawx and Dodgers reaffirm, just in case you or the Yanks have forgotten.

It’s okay to outspend everyone (by a lot)

Kinda weird I have to point this out when talking about the Yankees, but here we are. Between payroll and luxury tax, the Yankees paid $240M for their roster last season. This year that number was all the way down to $193M or so. The Yankees went to Game Seven of the ALCS last year and cut nearly $50M off their payroll. Good grief.

Let’s check in on 2018 Opening Day payrolls, shall we?

Red Sox: $228.4M
Giants: $205.6M
Dodgers: $199.6M

Would you look at that? Two of the top three teams in payroll are in the World Series. The third team stunk, but you know what? That third team won three World Series titles in a five-year span recently and spent like crazy to try to extend the championship window. They tried like hell to keep winning. There’s no extra credit for winning with a cheapest roster. Spend spend spend.

The Yankees set out to reset their luxury tax rate this year and they did exactly that. Will they increase payroll next year and exceed the luxury tax threshold? Brian Cashman didn’t make it seem like a given. “I don’t want to speak for (Hal Steinbrenner), but my general feeling from him and for us has been not wanting to line the pockets of others to let them utilize that excess against us,” said the GM.

Luxury tax money goes to non-luxury tax paying teams. At least part of it does. It sucks having to pay bills, we all know that firsthand, so I totally get why the Yankees don’t want to continue footing a luxury tax bill. By doing that though, the Yankees are throwing away their market advantages. Playing in New York and having this organization’s history means sky high revenues. The Yankees have willingly leveled the playing field.

The Red Sox spent like crazy this year — I don’t want to hear any “they’re buying a championship!” nonsense, it’s hard for a Yankees fan to be more hypocritical than that — and the result was 108 wins and a trip to the postseason. The Dodgers, like the Yankees, worked to get under the luxury tax threshold this year. They went from 104 wins last year to 92 wins this year. They leveled the playing field and had to battle all season.

If there’s a lesson here, the lesson is that when a team has a very talented young core capable of doing something special, they absolutely should throw money at whatever roster holes exist in an effort to get over the hump. Could you get saddled with a bad contract along the way? Absolutely. You also might wind up in the World Series. Success can be fleeting and championship windows can closer sooner than you expect. Spend when you can.

Home runs are cool, long live home runs

The Red Sox clinched the AL pennant with a 4-1 win over the Astros in ALCS Game Five. The Dodgers clinched the NL pennant with a 5-1 win over the Brewers in NLDS Game Seven. All eleven runs in the two deciding games were scored on home runs. Every single one. Three solo homers (Christian Yelich, J.D. Martinez, Marwin Gonzalez), one two-run homer (Cody Bellinger), and two three-run homers (Rafael Devers, Yasiel Puig) equal eleven runs.

From 2016-18, there were 1.19 home runs per game during the regular season and 1.15 home runs per game in the postseason. The difference is one homer every 25 games. A negligible difference. Also:

2018 regular season: 40.3% runs on homers
2018 postseason: 40.2% runs on homers

As Joe Sheehan notes, the team with more home runs has won 17 of 21 games this postseason. Point is, home run production does not decrease in October. That’s a lazy and tired narrative that anyone watching this postseason should see is false. Hitting a home run is literally the best thing a hitter can do and that is true any time of year.

Fortunately, Cashman and the Yankees don’t seem eager to overhaul their record setting home run offense this winter. They’re not going to be pressured into shaking things up after a quick ALDS exit, or after last year’s offensive issues in Houston during the ALCS. “I’m good with our offense. I think we lost because we were ineffective, and that had to do with what was done to us,” said Cashman at his end-of-season press conference.

Are the Yankees too right-handed? Yeah, I think so, especially now that Didi Gregorius is going to miss an undetermined length of time next season. Another lefty bat and another high on-base guy in left field should be offseason priorities. Generally speaking though, a home run heavy offense is a (very) good thing. The Yankees shouldn’t overreact to the ALDS (and last year’s ALCS) and overhaul things. The ball still flies in October.

Don’t pass up elite talent

I didn’t love the idea of trading for Gerrit Cole last year. Not at the reported asking price. The Yankees wanted to build a deal around Clint Frazier and secondary prospects. The Pirates wanted Frazier and Miguel Andujar, and no. Just no. The Yankees stood their ground and Cole went to the Astros for a package that looked underwhelming at the time and looks even more underwhelming now.

What I didn’t appreciate enough at the time is how hard it is to acquire elite talent. And Cole, even with the step backwards he took in 2016 and 2017, is an elite talent. He was 27 years old at the time and he’s a former first overall pick with premium velocity, a swing-and-miss slider, and pretty good control. How often do players like that become available? How often do they actually change teams? Not often at all. These guys are hard to get.

Look at the two World Series teams. When the Dodgers needed a shortstop to replace the injured Corey Seager, they went out and got Manny Machado. When the Red Sox needed another starter a few years ago, they traded for Chris Sale. When they needed a power bat last winter, they signed J.D. Martinez. There were no corners cut. There approach was “we’re a great team and we’re getting the best players available to address our needs.”

This isn’t to say I think the Yankees should’ve caved and given up Frazier and Andujar for Cole. Andujar is my dude. Can’t really blame the Yankees because the Pirates said no and wound up making a bad trade. My point is elite talent is difficult to acquire and whenever it becomes available, the Yankees should get involved in the bidding. They did last offseason with Giancarlo Stanton! This offseason Machado and Bryce Harper are available for nothing but cash, and yeah.

This sorta circles back to the first point. The Yankees stuck to a self-imposed payroll limit this year, and if they do it again next year and miss out on a prime-aged superstar like Machado or Harper, it’s going to look terrible. Squint your eyes and you can find baseball reasons to pass on Machado (two knee surgeries) and Harper (various injuries), and if the Yankees put on the full course press and they sign elsewhere anyway, so be it. But they have to try. Role players are important, but you win with stars.

Yankees will reportedly visit Dodger Stadium in 2019

August 20, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Details about the 2019 regular season schedule are starting to trickle in, and, according to Bill Shaikin, the Yankees will visit Dodger Stadium next season. The Yankees are due to play the NL West as part of the interleague rotation, though they didn’t play in Los Angeles when they made their last jaunt through the NL West three years ago.

Only three times have the Yankees visited Dodger Stadium during interleague play. The Yankees dropped two of three in Chavez Ravine in 2004, won two of three in 2010, and split a two-game series in 2013. In the Yankees’ last game at Dodger Stadium, Hiroki Kuroda and Clayton Kershaw had a pretty great pitchers’ duel.

The Yankees and Dodgers of course have a rich history, including meeting in the World Series eleven times. They are far and away the most common World Series matchup in history. (Yankees-Giants is second with seven.) The Yankees beat the Dodgers in the World Series in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1977, and 1978. The Dodgers beat the Yankees in 1955, 1963, and 1981.

It is entirely possible these two teams will meet in the 2018 World Series, though that would require the Dodgers getting their act together these next six weeks. They’re two games back in the NL West and 1.5 games back of the second NL wild card spot. And who knows, maybe next year’s Yankees-Dodgers series in Dodger Stadium will be a homecoming for Kershaw, who can opt out of his contract after the season and potentially sign a massive deal with the Yankees. That’d be pretty weird.

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.

Manny off the market: Machado heads to Dodgers

July 18, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

9:21pm ET: The trade has been announced by both teams, so it is officially official. Machado goes to the Dodgers for outfielder Yusniel Diaz, third baseman Rylan Bannon, righties Dean Kremer and Zack Pop, and utility man Breyvic Valera. The Yankees equivalent is probably something like Estevan Florial, Brandon Wagner, Garrett Whitlock, Phil Diehl, and Ronald Torreyes. Not perfect, but ballpark.

9:30am ET: It always felt like a long shot — it did to me, anyway — and we can now rule out the Yankees trading for Manny Machado. According to multiple reports, Machado is being traded to the Dodgers for a package that includes as many as five prospects. An official announcement and a press conference is expected either today or tomorrow. He’ll be a Dodger before the regular season resumes Friday.

Earlier this month it was reported the Yankees had interest in Machado, though apparently they were unwilling to part with Justus Sheffield or Clint Frazier, and maybe even other top prospects as well. Yeah, Machado is a rental, but he’s a great rental, and it always stood to reason the Orioles would get a pretty good prospect(s) for him. It should hurt to acquire a player of this caliber.

Had the Yankees acquired Machado, they presumably would’ve moved him back to third base in deference to the defensively superior Didi Gregorius. That would’ve push Miguel Andujar to Triple-A or led to him being traded for a pitcher. The Yankees aren’t exactly hurting for offense, but it’s okay to add to a strength, and Machado would’ve been a considerable short-term upgrade over Andujar. And I say that as someone who loves Miggy.

Reports indicate the Dodgers are giving up outfield prospect Yusniel Diaz (MLB.com’s No. 84 prospect), right-hander Dustin May, outfielder Errol Robinson, and possibly two others for Machado. A comparable Yankees package would’ve been something like Estevan Florial, healthy Freicer Perez, Billy McKinney, plus two others. It’s not a perfect equivalent, obviously, but it’s probably in the ballpark.

Anyway, the Machado trade means two things for the Yankees. One, they don’t have to face him anymore! Thank goodness for that. Machado is 15-for-41 (.366) with six home runs in ten games against the Yankees this season. Good grief. He was literally the only good player on the Orioles team and the Yankees still managed to get beat by him time and time again. The Yankees still have nine games remaining with Baltimore this year. That’s nine fewer games against Machado. Phew. (The Red Sox also have nine games remaining with the O’s.)

And two, the Yankees can now can focus all their time and resources on improving the rotation and maybe adding a reliever. I mean, Brian Cashman and his staff can walk and chew gum at the same time. I don’t think they were focused so intently on Machado that they missed out on potential pitching opportunities these last few weeks. But now Machado is off the table completely. It’s one less thing to worry about, you know?

The 2018 non-waiver trade deadline is 13 days away and the most attractive trade candidate — Machado has to be one of the best players ever traded as a rental, right? — is off the board. The Yankees were said to be in the mix, but they missed out. So be it. The rotation is the priority going forward and oy vey, the pitching market looks bleak. Part of me expects an out-of-nowhere trade addition rather than one of the guys known to be available. We’ll see.

Update: A’s claim Trayce Thompson off waivers from Yankees

April 5, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Thursday: And he’s gone. Thompson was claimed off waivers by the Athletics today, the Yankees announced. Aaron Boone said yesterday the Yankees were planning to send Thompson to Triple-A, and since he’s out of options, he has to clear waivers to go to down. The A’s claimed him when the Yankees tried to pass him through. I’m not sure why Oakland didn’t claim him the first time — they have a higher waiver priority than the Yankees — but whatever. At least now Trayce can room with Klay.

Tuesday: The Yankees have claimed outfielder Trayce Thompson off waivers from the Dodgers, the team announced. Ben Heller was transferred to the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster spot. No word on when Thompson will join the Yankees, though I imagine it’ll be soon.

Thompson, 27, hit .212/.269/363 (58 wRC+) with nine homers in 95 Triple-A games last season, and .122/.218/.265 (25 wRC+) in limited big league time. The right-handed hitter is a career .233/.310/.445 (105 wRC+) hitter in 452 big league plate appearances, including .236/.295/.458 (101 wRC+) against southpaws. Not much of a platoon split there.

The Yankees are currently without Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique), Aaron Hicks (intercostal), Billy McKinney (shoulder), and Clint Frazier (concussion), so they’re running short on outfielders. Thompson can play center field and he figures to be a fill-in fourth outfielder until guys get healthy.

The Dodgers designated Thompson, who is out of minor league options, for assignment at the end of Spring Training when he didn’t make the team. If you’re an NBA fan, he is Klay Thompson’s brother

Scouting the Trade Market: Brandon McCarthy

December 6, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Now that they have a new DH, the Yankees figure to focus on “pitching, pitching, pitching” this offseason. The free agent class really stinks though, especially with Rich Hill now off the board. Hal Steinbrenner recently said the Yankees could go into Spring Training with competition for two rotation spots, but I know I’m not alone when I say I’d like to see the Yankees add some pitching depth. Starters and relievers, ideally.

Because the free agent class is so thin, the Yankees and every other team figure to turn to the trade market. A young pitcher with considerable upside would be ideal given the club’s long-term outlook. Unfortunately every other team is looking for the exact same player, which complicates things. Acquiring a pitcher like that is going to cost you. The Yankees might have to get creative to address their rotation this winter, both short and long-term.

The Dodgers are among the few teams with excess pitching depth, so much so that Buster Olney reports they are shopping some veteran starters, including Brandon McCarthy. This isn’t the first time the Dodgers have shopped McCarthy — reports at the trade deadline indicated he was part of a proposed Yasiel Puig-for-Ryan Braun trade as a way to offseason salary — so he’s very available. Does a reunion make sense? Let’s look.

Recent Performance

The Dodgers gave the 33-year-old McCarthy a four-year deal worth $48M two offseasons ago, and in the first two years of the contract, he threw only 63 total innings due to Tommy John surgery. He had a 5.29 ERA (4.62 FIP) in those 63 total innings, including a 4.95 ERA (3.70 FIP) in 40 innings this past season. McCarthy’s strikeout rate (25.7%) was good. The walk (15.2%) and ground ball (34.7%) rates … not so much.

McCarthy returned from Tommy John surgery as a starter this past July, and after five good starts back, the wheels came off. He completely lost the zone in August and walked exactly five in three consecutive starts. McCarthy is usually an extreme strike thrower — he hadn’t walked as many as four in a start since 2009 — and he admitted to developing a case of the yips.

“Coming back from Tommy John, you’re not worried your career is over. The yips was a whole different thing,” said McCarthy to Eric Stephen in September. “(You’re thinking) ‘I don’t ever know if I can throw a baseball in a competitive Major League Baseball game.'”

McCarthy bounced back with a strong start in September — he walked one in 5.2 innings — before being shifted to the bullpen as part of a postseason roster audition. He made one relief appearance, faced six batters, and retired none of them. Five hits, one walk, six runs, zero outs. Ouch. That disaster outing raised McCarthy’s overall season numbers from a 3.60 ERA (3.62 FIP) to that 4.95 ERA (3.70 FIP).

Back in 2014, his last healthy season, McCarthy authored a 4.05 ERA (3.55 FIP) in exactly 200 innings. That includes a 2.89 ERA (3.22 FIP) with 22.2% strikeouts, 3.5% walks, and 49.1% grounders in 14 starts and 90.1 innings with the Yankees after coming over from the Diamondbacks. That’s the McCarthy whatever team acquires him will be hoping to get.

Current Stuff

When the Yankees had McCarthy for those few months in 2014, he operated with three low-to-mid-90s fastballs (four-seam, sinker, cutter) and a hard low-80s slurve. The Yankees famously allowed him to start throwing the cutter again after Arizona had him put him on the shelf for whatever reason. “I feel like myself again … I feel like I need that pitch to be successful,” he said after the trade.

That was two years and one elbow ligament ago. Things change. In his nine starts back following Tommy John surgery this year, McCarthy averaged right around 92 mph with his three fastballs — he did hump the four-seamer up as high as 95.5 mph — and 80 mph with the breaking ball. That’s down a tick from his time in New York. Here’s some video from his first start back from elbow reconstruction this year:

Let’s quickly compare the effectiveness of McCarthy’s individual pitches this year to his time with the Yankees, just to see how far away he is from being that guy.

Four-seamer: 11.9% whiffs/25.0% grounders in 2016 vs. 12.3%/40.4% in 2014
Sinker: 5.4%/54.5% in 2016 vs. 10.6%/54.1% in 2014
Cutter: 8.9%/30.0% in 2016 vs. 7.9%/44.4% in 2014
Slurve: 5.6%/34.2% in 2016 vs. 12.5%/61.7% in 2014

A decline pretty much across the board, which isn’t the most surprising thing in the world considering it was his first few starts back from major elbow reconstruction. Also, keep in mind we’re dealing with small sample sizes here. We have no choice, really. McCarthy didn’t spend much time with the Yankees and he hasn’t thrown much since returning from Tommy John surgery.

There are two pieces of good news, I’d say. One, McCarthy retained most of his velocity. He didn’t come back throwing in the upper-80s or anything like that. And two, he still has all his pitches. He’s regained feel for everything. Acquiring McCarthy means hoping he looks more and more like the 2014 version of himself as he gets further away from elbow reconstruction. Reasonable? Sure. Not guaranteed to happen though.

Injury History

This is where it gets really ugly. McCarthy has been on the disabled list every season but one since 2007. That was his 2014 season with the D-Backs and Yankees, conveniently his contract year. Good timing, I’d say. McCarthy’s list of injuries is scary. He’s not a guy who missed some time here and there with a pulled hamstring and things like that. Check it out:

2007: Missed more than two months with a blister and a stress fracture in his shoulder.
2008: Missed almost the entire season with a finger tendon strain and forearm soreness.
2009: Missed more than three months with a stress fracture in his shoulder.
2010: Missed almost the entire season with a stress fracture in his shoulder.
2011: Missed seven weeks with a stress fracture in his shoulder.
2012: Missed three months with a shoulder strain. Also took a line drive to the head in September that required emergency surgery to treat a skull fracture and epidural hemorrhage. Eek.
2013: Missed two months with shoulder soreness.
2014: Healthy!
2015: Missed almost the entire season with Tommy John surgery.
2016: Missed the first three months of the season with Tommy John surgery. Also missed six weeks late in the season with a hip issue.

Goodness. Guys get blisters and the line drive to the head was nothing more than a tragic fluke. But fractured shoulders and torn elbow ligaments? That’s scary. The stress fractures are recurring too. If it happens once, you kinda hope that’s the end of it. When it happens year after year, you have to be concerned going forward. How could you not be?

It’s important to note McCarthy changed up his workout program during the 2013-14 offseason in an effort to keep his shoulder healthy. It wasn’t just offseason workouts either. He does more intense work during the season as well. Nick Piecoro wrote about it a few years ago. The new workouts and elbow ligament could bode well for the future. Given his history though, it’s hard to count on McCarthy to be a 30-start guy going forward.

Contract Status

The Yankees tried to re-sign McCarthy two years ago, but they weren’t going to come anywhere close to guaranteeing him four years given his injury history. I wanted McCarthy back too, and I was hoping two years would get it done. Three years made me really nervous. Four years? Forget it. It was perfectly reasonable to walk away at that point.

Los Angeles gave McCarthy that four-year deal worth $48M, and guess what? It was front-loaded. He received a $6M signing bonus and $11M in salary in both 2015 and 2016. He’s owed $10M in both 2016 and 2017. What kind of pitcher can you buy for $10M annually in this free agent class? Not a very good one. Ivan Nova might get $13M a season this winter. Maybe more. Ivan Nova!

Now, $10M a season is not nothing. In the world of starting pitchers though, paying $20M across two years would be a relative bargain if McCarthy gives you, say, 300 league average innings. The pitching market is getting out of hand. The Yankees are trying to get under the luxury tax threshold at some point soon, and taking on a $10M luxury tax hit for a starter who is no lock to a) stay healthy, or b) be effective, is a bit dicey.

What About The Yankees?

The key to a potential McCarthy trade would be the intentions of the Dodgers. Are they looking to salary dump him? The Dodgers are reportedly working to lower payroll, partly because they have to meet MLB’s mandated debt limit within two years. Trading McCarthy and freeing up $10M this year and next would certainly help do that.

Or do the Dodgers see him as a legitimate trade piece and expect something of substance in return? That’s my guess. The free agent pitching market stinks and I’m sure more than a few teams would be willing to roll the dice with McCarthy on what is essentially a two-year deal worth $20M. His trade value isn’t high given the injuries, but chances are you won’t get him for a player to be named later or cash either.

The Yankees know McCarthy, and the fact they tried to re-sign him two years ago is an indication they like something about him. Maybe the Tommy John surgery and case of the yips — to be fair, McCarthy seemed to get over that, he walked only two of the 26 batters he faced after those three straight starts with five walks — has changed their mind. It’s certainly possible. Lots can change in two years.

McCarthy wouldn’t solve New York’s need for long-term rotation help, but he would give the team some depth behind Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, and Michael Pineda. They wouldn’t have to reply on youngsters like Luis Cessa and Luis Severino quite as much right out of the gate next year. Taking pressure off the kids would be pretty cool, I think. McCarthy’s contract is not a burden and it might not cost much to get him in a trade. If that’s the case, I think the Yankees should definitely be interested.