
Brian Cashman got the Yanks their ace in Sonny Gray. It went almost down to the wire, but the Yanks got Gray for three prospects.
So let’s reassess what Cashman has done in the past few weeks. He got rid of the struggling Tyler Clippard and a bunch of prospects (but not the top tier ones) for the following: brought back David Robertson. Got Tommy Kahnle. Got Todd Frazier for 3b (if only for two months, rental), enabling Chase Headley to move to 1B to solve the season long 1B problem. Got Jaime Garcia (if only for a 2 month rental) to fill the Pineda spot that was being filled by Mitchell/Cessa and rookie Caleb Smith. Upgrades all around.
Now he got an ace pitcher to top it off. I’d say Cashman definitely earned his money.
Gray is under team control through 2019. He isn’t a two-month rental like Garcia is. He’s 27, in his prime.
Two years ago, Gray was an All-Star who finished third in CYA voting.
He had a rough 2016, missing 1/3 of the year with an injury, but even with that, is 44-36 in his career with an ERA of 3.42, ERA+ 114 (100 is average, so 14% above). His 162 G. average is 13-11, 3.42. With that ERA his record should be better, and with this offense and this bullpen, I expect that to happen.
This year, he has been 6-5, 3.43. Even though he was just 5-11, 5.69 last season, the ERAs for the other seasons were all 3.08 or lower. Great.
He is an ace, and in picking him up, the Yanks gave up three prospects, and two of them are currently on the DL. Who knows how they recover from those injuries?
James Kaprielian. RHP. 23. Considered their #1 pitching prospect, he has been surpassed. He has missed all of the 2017 season due to Tommy John surgery. He missed almost all of 2016. Not counting the Arizona Fall League, he has pitched in only seven minor league games. He basically has hardly pitched in the last two seasons.
Dustin Fowler. OF Lefty hitter. 22. The poor kid who suffered a major injury in his first MLB inning before he got his first MLB at bat. With people like Clint Frazier and Aaron Judge ahead of him, the Yanks deemed him expendable. As I recently wrote, a pecking order. You may have a lot of talent, but if you are blocked by someone better….
2016 AA .281-12-88, 15 triples, 25 SB
2017 AAA .293-13-43, 13 SB, 8 triples, 70 g.
Jorge Mateo. 22. Once a top Yankees prospect at SS, he was passed on the pecking order by Gleyber Torres. Not only that, the Yanks have Didi and Castro at SS and 2B right now. The Yanks moved him to CF, and apparently he has been picking it up well, and has been playing well at AA, but the Yanks apparently like 19 year old Estevan Florial (compared to Adam Jones (5x all star, 4x Gold Glove) as far as ability) better. Florial is currently at Low A Charleston. As I mentioned, ….. pecking order. Not only that, who knows what happens with the free agent market in a few years. Could the CF of the future be Bryce Harper or Mike Trout?
Gray fits the now. He is just 27. Under team control for this year and the next two. Team him with the 23 year old Severino and you have a nice young 1-2 punch.
Now let’s say Tanaka regains his old form in 2018. He’d be 29.
CC is 37, and I’m not looking at him right now, nor Garcia who is a two-month rental, but Jordan Montgomery is just 24. And the Yanks still have Chance Adams, Domingo Acevedo and Justus Sheffield in the wings.
A young and hopefully good rotation. And with a bullpen featuring Chapman, Betances, Robertson, Kahnle, Green, Warren…. I am excited.
Severino and Montgomery are young, haven’t gone too many innings in a season and could be hitting a “wall” soon. The additions of Garcia and Gray guard against that.
Montgomery could be bullpen bound.
Cashman also traded prospect Yefri Ramirez to the Orioles for $$$ to be used against international signings.
So the Yanks get an ace. Granted they gave up three prospects. It wasn’t Torres, Frazier, Sheffield, Acevedo or Adams.
Two of those prospects are on the DL with major injuries and won’t be ready until 2018.
Great job, Cashman.