Most people don’t look forward to Mondays, especially during the Summer. A lot of weekend time is spent in the sun, pools, oceans, bbqs…joy all around. Then the work week slaps you back in the face on Monday. But, this past Monday was also about being glued to Twitter to see when the NY Yankees and Chicago Cubs would finalize the Aroldis Chapman deal. With Chapman now in the North side of Chicago and prospects Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney and others in the pinstriped organization, who might be the next Yankee to leave town?
Principal owner Hal Steinbrenner has already said the team will not be having a fire sale. That being said, that doesn’t mean the Yankees can’t acquire some great pieces for the future. In fact, GM Brian Cashman is looking to sell and buy as the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline approaches.
The most obvious player to be moved is the past and current closer, Andrew Miller. Cashman has said Miller won’t be traded unless the Yankees receive a major package of players in return. With Chapman off the table, Miller is very much in demand. The Washington Nationals and Cleveland Indians have been the teams talked about most as landing spots for the left-hander.
Both teams have entrenched closers in Jonathan Papelbon (WASH) and Cody Allen (CLE). The assumption is that Miller would set up either one, but it’s still unclear. Washington found out last year that you can upset the apple cart by replacing your current closer (Drew Storen) with a new one (Papelbon).
With Torres and McKinney not nearly Major League ready, the Yankees need to find some players who are ready to join the big club in short order. Cleveland has already stated that outfielders Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier are off limits. Of course, that can change if the Indians can bring a player or players in that could help them to their first title since 1948. Ranked 1-2 by most prospect rating services, both players were recently promoted to Triple-A. Zimmer and Frazier have been projected to be starting outfielders for the Indians next year. But, with the emergence of rookie Tyler Naquin this season (.324/.383/.633 slash line; 12 HR, 31 RBI in 188 AB’s), one of them might be pried away. Or, Naquin could be dealt, though that would be more likely be part of an off-season scenario.
The Indians’ prospects mentioned most often in rumors are pitchers Justus Sheffield, Rob Kaminsky, catcher Francisco Mejia, and slugging first baseman Bobby Bradley (for the moment, think Chris Carter).
The Nationals are adamant that top pitching prospect Lucas Giolito isn’t going anywhere, and it’s hard to doubt that. The same has been said of outfielder Trea Turner and pitcher Reynaldo Lopez. Hard to imagine them going back on that too. So, who might be available in a deal? How about 19-year old outfielder Victor Robles?
Robles was promoted to Advanced-A Potomac earlier this month, after an outstanding start to the season at ‘A’ ball Hagerstown. He earned the promotion after he put up a .459 slugging%, stole 19 bases, drove in 30 runs in 64 games, and struck out just 33 times in 285 plate appearances.
Johnny DiPulgia, the Nats’ VP of International Operations, recently told the Washington Post: “He’s a very high-energy kid, very hyper. He loves to play, to the point where I had to tone him down a little bit because he was so high-energy.” DiPuglia added, “If you’re going off tools alone, he’s one of the top 10 prospects in baseball”.
Another trade possibility would be pitcher Erick Fedde. The Nations selected Fedde with the 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft, just three days after he underwent Tommy John surgery. The UNLV product is currently pitching for Potomac. He’s put up an impressive 8.8K/9 IP, with just 18 walks issued in 76 innings.
So, is there any possibility that the Yankees could reel in Lopez? Maybe. The Nats’ centerfielders – Michael Taylor and Ben Revere – have had the worst on-base percentage in the NL. It’s one of the reasons that Turner is out there now. Buster Olney spoke with a player evaluator who felt the Yankees have the solution in Brett Gardner. Olney tweeted: “He’d be a great fit for [WAS] for what they need, b/c he’d give them a lot of coverage in 3 spots.”
If Gardner was included, the Yankees would have to send money as well. The left-fielder is guaranteed $23MM over the next two seasons (plus another $2MM for a 2019 buyout). Gardner has slumped in the second half of the last two seasons and hasn’t produced much of anything this year. That being said, a change of scenery and a pennant race could invigorate him.
With Texas Rangers’ DH Prince Fielder done for the season with neck surgery, a new landing spot has opened for Carlos Beltran. For now, the Rangers have called up power hitter Joey Gallo to play first base. Mitch Moreland has moved to the DH spot and Jurickson Profar will see time around the infield, as well as DH. (So far, Texas has balked at dealing Gallo and Profar.)
Beltran’s All-Star bat would be a great, veteran addition to the current Rangers lineup. He would provide better protection behind current cleanup hitter Adrian Beltre, or he could hit in front of him. With the Rangers’ starting rotation riddled with injuries, the Yankees could also package Ivan Nova or Nathan Eovaldi with Beltran for greater return.
Among the prospects that might be available is outfielder Lewis Brinson. Though Brinson has struggled at Double-A Frisco this season, last year he hit.332, compiled a 1.004 OPS, stole 18 bases, and added 20 HR and 69 RBI. Brinson split most of last season between Advanced-A (64 games) and Double-A (28 games) ball. He also got an eight-game look in Triple-A. Brinson is projected to be a starting center fielder in the not-too-distant future.
The Yankees could also make a run at pitchers Luis Ortiz and Dillon Tate. Ortiz was the Rangers’ number one (30th overall) pick in the 2014 draft. Ortiz began the season at Advanced-A High Desert and was promoted to Frisco. To paraphrase Baseball Prospectus: He has a consistent mid-90’s fastball and uses his slider as his out pitch. On a worrisome note, Ortiz missed parts of the last two seasons with elbow tendinitis.
Tate was the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft and has a higher ceiling than Ortiz. The right-hander is currently pitching for the Single-A Hickory Crawdads. Per Baseball Prospectus, Tate has a “live” fastball, that can range from mid-to-upper 90 MPH. He has a nasty slider that he sometimes rely on too much, and has a good developing changeup. It’s not likely the Rangers would part with Tate for Beltran. Should Texas go after a big time pitcher, like a Chris Sale, that could change. That also means they would likely part with Ortiz.
So, what’s next? Brian Cashman has until August 1 to figure how much re-tooling the Yankees should and can do this season.
