The Yankees on Friday made two major moves signing free agent reliever Andrew Miller to a four-year $36 million contract. This signing likely signals the end of David Robertson’s career in New York and the loss of the their closer to free agency will likely mean either Miller or Dellin Betances will assume the closer duties with the other pitching the eighth inning quickly forming one of the most dominant bullpens in baseball. However, this was not the biggest move the Yankees made on Friday.
Yankees Trade For Didi Gregorius, Name Him Jeter’s Replacement
Ever since the end of the season the biggest question surrounding the team was who was going to replace Derek Jeter. There were a number of different names that were rumored to be on the Yankees’ radar including Troy Tulowitski, Starlin Castro, and Alexei Ramirez to name a few. Rather unexpectedly of Friday, the answer came when the team acquired Didi Gregorius from the Diamondbacks as part of a three team trade. In the trade New York sent pitcher Shane Greene to the Tigers, and the Tigers sent left handed pitcher Robbie Ray and infielder Domingo Lebya to the Diamondbacks. Gregorius is not a household name and many casual baseball fans will not know a ton about him but for a Yankee team with a very weak farm system he was likely the best they could get via trade. Gregorius struggled in 2014 following a solid showing as a rookie in 2013. His wOBA 0f .311 in his rookie year was well above the MLB average for shortstop, which came in at .298. While he does not post high home run totals his ISO, or isolated power, has been .124 in his short career thus far which once again would place him above the average MLB shortstop as the average ISO was .112. The move to Yankee stadium could signal some additional success for the lefty swinger as he can utilize the short porch in RF possibly allowing him to build on his home run totals. He is not a base stealing threat with on three in his career and he also projects as a slightly above average defensive shortstop. Gregorius is definitely an upgrade over what the team had on the roster as the position and he still has time to grow, as he is only 25 years old and under team control until 2019.
In trading away Greene the Yankees traded away organizational pitching depth which could very well be needed during 2015. Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia missed basically all of 2014 with injuries and their success is a major question mark for the roster. Masahiro Tanaka, David Phelps, and Michael Pineda all missed significant time as well during the past season. The team could still be in the market for a starter which would allow them to use Phelps back in his swingman/long relief role where he has been successful in the past. For the Tigers, Greene who is coming off a very solid rookie campaign adds strength to their rotation which is bracing for the potential loss of Max Scherzer to free agency and is dealing with a declining Justin Verlander. Greene with his power sinker resembles Tigers’ pitcher Rick Porcello who has had success in Detroit. However, the acquisition of Greene may signal the end of the road in Detroit for Porcello. The righty has been the subject of trade rumors involving Boston and Yoenis Cespedes but it is rumored that the Tigers wanted to add one more strarting pitcher before making the deal.
On paper, this trade seems like a decent trade for the Yankees as they got the shortstop the desperately needed and did not have to blow up their already depleted farm system to do so. The Tigers traded away two prospects for what an MLB starting pitcher who may allow them the roster flexibility to improve their roster in other places. The Diamondbacks could afford to trade Gregorius as it allows Chris Owings, who preformed well in 2014, to take over as the full time shortstop. Ray was ranked as the second best prospect in the Tigers’ system in 2014 and although he struggled in the MLB last season he could be a valuable asset for the team down the line. Lebya is a 19-year-old infielder who hit well at a few spots so far during his two year minor league career. For all three teams this trade makes sense and could be a precursor for additional moves for each team.
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