With less than an hour to go before the 2016 MLB trade deadline, the Texas Rangers agree to acquire outfielder Carlos Beltran from the New York Yankees. The Yankees will receive Dillon Tate and two other prospects.
Source: Rangers agree to acquire Carlos Beltran from Yankees. Dillon Tate going back. @Ken_Rosenthal said it was close.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 1, 2016
Rangers Get Carlos Beltran from Yankees
While New York’s offense has been woeful for the most part in 2016, Beltran has been the exception. The 39-year-old, 18-year veteran has seemed almost ageless this season, posting a .304/.334/.546 slash line this season. His twenty-two home runs and sixty-four RBI led every other Yankee batter. In giving him up, the Yankees are seemingly waiving the white flag on the 2016 season, and are looking forward to 2017 and beyond.
Beltran should make an already-formidable Rangers lineup even deadlier. Prior to the trade, the Rangers ranked seventh in baseball in runs scored and hits, sixth in home runs, RBI, and batting average, ninth in slugging percentage, and tenth in OPS. Add Beltran to that production and, assuming the Rangers get semi-consistent pitching, Texas now looks like a top contender for the World Series.
While the Yankees would now need a miracle to make the post-season, an already good trade deadline just got even better for them. While Dillon Tate has struggled somewhat in limited minor league work, he has front-line starter potential down the road. Tate, a 22-year-old righty out of UC Santa Barbara, was the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft. He has issues with his command right now, but should figure those out given more time to develop. An once-barren New York farm system is now overflowing with top prospects.
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