The New York Yankees had one of the better bullpens in all of Major League Baseball in 2015. Andrew Miller closed games, Dellin Betances set up games and literally saved games in the 7th and 8th and Justin Wilson struck out batter after batter all season long. Despite Adam Warren being traded from the pen and Chasen Shreve's second half fall off New York decided to trade Wilson to the Detroit Tigers for two prospects. Neither prospects look to have high ceilings and the deal looks more and more like a money saver. Wilson was set to make a tad over a million dollars in 2016, Antonio Bastardo wants to make a little more.
Bastardo is one of the top relief pitchers left on the free agency market and is a relative Wilson clone. I mean it, their stats and projections for next season are almost identical. Wilson is just entering his arbitration years when things start to get expensive for the team. Bastardo on the other hand is in free agency and has asked for a deal similar to the deal that Tony Sipp, a left-handed reliever, struck with the Houston Astros.
Sipp signed a three-year deal worth $18 million with Houston and Bastardo, also a southpaw, wants a comparable deal. Bastardo, remember a Wilson clone, will presumably earn a $6 million AAV while Wilson will make a bit over $1 million and will likely never reach $6 million before free agency.
Bastardo gets left-handed and right-handed batters out equally as well and has posted a Justin Wilson esque 3.18 ERA with a 10.5 K/9 ratio.
This is all a moot point if Brian Cashman got a substantial haul for Wilson but he didn't. Chad Green is an organization prospect at best, and he was in a very weak Detroit Tigers system, and Luis Cessa is only the 18th best prospect in the Yankees system according to MLB Pipeline.
unfortunately I just think majority of teams won't do business with the Yankees.
ReplyDeleteI mean, look at the markets that developed for kimbrel and giles. I imagine that nothing came close, otherwise miller would have been moved. You figure after the issues with chapman, miller would be sure to move, but no. Either that, or teams aren't confident that miller can repeat his successes.
and yes, like you said. mediocre prospects. The farm system is to give experience and develop players. Making a trade for the sake of adding depth in Trenton or Wilkes-Barre is horse manure.
By general rule you should never lose sleep over losing a relief pitcher or a non-closer. That's obviously not the case in New York with Dellin Betances, a non-closer, but he's the exception not the rule.
DeleteI have no issue trading Wilson, I have an issue trading both Warren and Wilson and getting nothing in return. Trading Miller for less than an absolute haul is redundant if the team truly believes in putting a World Series caliber team out every season.
So basically the Yankees would be paying $5 million for a couple of prospects.
ReplyDeleteIf they signed Bastardo, yes.
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