Recent, Notable & Yankees Related August Trades in MLB

Just because the July 31st trade deadline has come and gone does not mean that the trades are done around the league. Trades can still happen, in fact trades can happen until the very last day of the season, but they get a little more complicated from here on out. Players must now pass through revocable waivers and can be claimed, and ultimately pulled back, or they can pass through waivers and be traded to any team. It gets complicated but it's not impossible so here are some of the more recent and notable August trades in Major League Baseball history. I even included a Yankees-related trade just because we are The Greedy Pinstripes after all and we need to see trades happen no matter what the calendar says. Don’t judge us. Love us.

In 2003 the Pittsburgh Pirates sent one of their best players on the team, Brian Giles, to the San Diego Padres for a pair of prospects. You may recognize some of the names that were traded for Giles, Oliver Perez and Jason Bay.

On this day in 2008 the Toronto Blue Jays acquired a player who was not even on the Major League roster at the time. The most notable player at the time of the trade was the Pittsburgh Pirates newest player Robinson Diaz but the clear cut winner was Toronto who acquired some dude named Jose Bautista.

In 2000 the New York Yankees acquired a familiar face to complete their dynasty years, the team sent a prospect to the Pittsburgh Pirates for infielder Luis Sojo. Sojo was a big member of the 1996-1999 Yankees before leaving for Pittsburgh via free agency. Sojo was acquired for the playoff and World Series run and did just that with a four-hit game and the game winning hit to clinch the 2000 World Series over the New York Mets. This isn't exactly a notable trade as much as it was a stretch to include the Yankees on the post but it what it is. We're a Yankees blog after all.

And who could forget the mega-deal between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox where over $250,000,000 in dollars changed hands overnight. The Dodgers sent James Loney, Allen Webster, Ivan De Jesus, Rubby De La Rosa and Jerry Sands to the Boston Red Sox for Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett.

Will there be any notable or Yankees related trades in August of 2017 to speak about next season? I guess you’ll just have to stay tuned. 

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers 8/2

Afternoon baseball in the Bronx, it truly doesn’t get much better than this. Happy Wednesday and Happy Tanaka Day ladies and gentleman. The New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers will cap off their three-game series this afternoon in the Bronx with what should be an entertaining pitching matchup that includes Masahiro Tanaka taking the mound for the Yankees and Jordan Zimmermann toeing the rubber for the Tigers. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. You can also put in a headphone at work or follow along in your cars by tuning into the WFAN broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. I know I will be.

Follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes and enjoy the game. Work needs to understand that this is the year for New York and the prospect of the playoffs is much more important than anything they can possibly be needing you to do right now. Tell them Daniel Burch said so. Also tell them I said “Go Yankees!!!”

Meet a Prospect Special Edition: OMG IT’S SONNY GRAY

Ladies and gentleman for the foreseeable future it is always going to be Sonny here in the Bronx after the New York Yankees acquired the Oakland Athletics right-hander before the July 31^st trading deadline. As we all know by now the Yankees sent center fielder Dustin Fowler, shortstop/center fielder Jorge Mateo and right-handed starting pitcher James Kaprielian back in the deal for Gray and cash considerations but do we as a fan base really know what we are getting back in Gray? The problem with players who play on the West Coast like Gray has with the Oakland Athletics is I don’t believe they get truly appreciated since a lot of the country is asleep when they are doing their best work. Thank goodness for the internet, for MLB Network and Sportscenter and for Meet a Prospect Special Editions here on The Greedy Pinstripes. This is Meet a Prospect: The Sonny Gray Special Edition.

Sonny Douglas Gray was born on November 7, 1989 in Nashville, Tennessee to Cindy and Jesse Gray and lived in Nashville until his family moved to Smyrna, Tennessee before Sonny’s eight grade year. Sonny attended Smyrna High School while in Smyrna, Tennessee but his high school career started out with a tragedy. Sonny lost his father in a car accident during his freshman year of high school. Gray did not let that deter him on the field and may have even used baseball as a coping mechanism as the right-hander was named Freshman of the Year in District 9AAA as a left fielder and pitcher. Gray battled injuries during his sophomore season, a sign of what was to come unfortunately, but came back strong to close out his high school career posting an 11-2 record and a 0.95 ERA as a junior followed up by a 4-0 record and 0.79 ERA as a senior before once again succumbing to injury. Some of the injuries may have come while Gray was also the high school’s starting quarterback in football as he guided the team to back-to-back 5A State titles in 2006 and 2007.

Gray was drafted out of High School by the Chicago Cubs in the 27^th round of the 2008 MLB Draft but opted to go through with his commitment to Vanderbilt University where he began his collegiate career. Gray started out at Vanderbilt as a relief pitcher where the righty collected four saves before the team moved him to their starting rotation. Gray excelled as the team’s ace going 10-5 with a 3.48 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 2010 followed by a dominating 12-4 record and 2.43 ERA with 132 strikeouts in 2011. In 2011, Gray’s junior season, the right-hander led Vanderbilt to their first-ever College World Series berth reaching the semifinals before losing to national runner-up Florida. Gray did enough during that junior season and in the College World Series to catch the attention and the eyes of scouts in the Oakland Athletics organization who drafted him 18^th overall in the 2011 MLB Draft. Gray decided to forego his senior season and signed with Oakland for a $1.54 million signing bonus.

Gray dominated the Athletics minor league system from 2011 – 2013 before ultimately getting called up to the Major Leagues on July 10, 2013 to replace Dan Straily. Gray made his MLB the same day out of the Oakland bullpen pitching two innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates giving up just one hit while not allowing a run or a walk. Gray had three strikeouts in the performance which would net him a second appearance with the team before being sent back down to the minors. Gray would return on August 10 to make his first MLB start against the Toronto Blue Jays and Mark Buehrle and the right-hander did enough to never get sent back down. Gray helped lead Oakland to the postseason in 2013 and even started Game 2 of the American League Division Series against Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers. In that playoff start Gray pitched eight shutout innings before the Athletics walked off in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. With that start the Athletics had the confidence to start Gray in Game 5 of that series once again facing off with Verlander for Detroit. Gray was not as sharp this time allowing three runs in 5+ innings resulting in a 3-0 loss for Oakland and an elimination from the American League playoffs.  

Gray started on Opening Day for the Athletics in 2014 against the Cleveland Indians and after a couple AL Pitcher of the Month Awards the Oakland right-hander led the Athletics right back to the playoffs in 2014. The A’s would once again see their season end earlier than they wanted as the team lost the AL Wild Card Game to the Kansas City Royals in extra innings. Gray was back on the mound in 2015 for Opening Day and continued to pitch well enough that the righty made his first All-Star Game appearance for the American League. Gray finished the season with a 14-7 record and a 2.73 ERA which placed him third in the AL Cy Young Award voting behind Dallas Keuchel and David Price. Gray came into the 2016 looking to build on that successful 2015 season but injuries hampered the right-hander and landed him on the disabled list twice that season. Gray finished with an underwhelming 5-11 record and a 5.69 ERA which may have led to him falling out of grace with the A’s.

Gray pitched well in 2017 for Oakland and more importantly he stayed healthy until the July 31^st trading deadline when the New York Yankees and their GM Brian Cashman came calling. Gray will now don Yankees pinstripes for the next three seasons or longer and will look to be the future and the ace of the staff here in the Bronx. Gray brings along with him a four-seam fastball that sits around the 92-93 MPH but can also touch as high as 95 MPH, a high-80’s MPH slider, a curveball that sits in the low 80’s MPH, a cutter that sits around 92 MPH and a changeup that usually sits around 88 MPH.

Welcome to the family Sonny! It’s always going to be Sonny in the Bronx from now on thanks to you. 

90 Feet: So Close, Yet So Far Away...

Credit:  Kathy Willens-AP

Tigers 4, Yankees 3...

On a night when the Boston Red Sox refused to lose, the Yankees meekly fell to the Detroit Tigers and a collection of underwhelming pitchers.  It was a very disappointing loss as the Yankees fell out of first place.  The Yankees had the tying run at third and the winning run at second in the bottom of the 9th but Clint Frazier failed to deliver in the clutch against former Yankee Shane Greene.

For CC Sabathia, it really came down to one bad pitch.  With runners at first and second with two outs in the top of the 2nd inning, CC got into an extended battle with Tigers first baseman John Hicks, throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him.  On the 10th pitch of the at-bat, Hicks deposited a poorly thrown backdoor slider into the right field stands (just beyond the glove of a leaping Aaron Judge), giving the Tigers a lead they would not relinquish.  

Credit:  Paul J Bereswill-New York Post

Justin Upton homered off Sabathia in the 3rd inning, also with two outs, to give the Tigers the necessary insurance run they would need to win.  The Yankees wasted an opportunity to chip away in the bottom of the 3rd when Tyler Wade led off with a double to center.  A wild pitch by Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez moved Wade to third with no outs.  But Brett Gardner, Clint Frazier and Aaron Judge all failed to bring Wade home.

In the bottom of the 4th, the Yankees finally got on the board when Gary Sanchez opened with a double to left.  Didi Gregorius homered to right to bring the Yankees within two runs, 4-2.  But those were the only runs the Yankees would be able to get off Anibal Sanchez.

The Yankees picked up their final run in the bottom of the 8th against the Tigers bullpen.  With Alex Wilson pitching, Gary Sanchez singled to left and advanced to second on a throwing error by left fielder Justin Upton.  The Tigers replaced Wilson with Daniel Stumpf and he was greeted by a run-scoring single from Didi Gregorius to make it a one-run game. Matt Holliday grounded into a double play to end the inning.  

The Tigers almost added to their lead in the top of the 9th.  David Robertson had been brought in to start the inning, in relief of Adam Warren.  Thanks to two singles, the Tigers had runners at first and second with two outs.  Austin Romine's brother Andrew singled to center but Brett Gardner gunned down the lead runner (James McCann) at the plate.  

Credit:  Jim McIsaac-Getty Images

In the bottom of the 9th, Jacoby Ellsbury walked with two outs.  A throwing error by Tigers reliever Shane Greene on a pick-off attempt allowed Ellsbury to race to third.  The Tigers chose to intentionally walk Brett Gardner to face Clint Frazier.  Gardner stole second to put the winning run in scoring position.  The stage was set for Frazier to be the hero.  Unfortunately, he took two called strikes without moving his bat and then popped out on the third pitch from Greene to end the game.  It was a disappointing loss and another game of missed opportunities.  

The Yankees (57-48) dropped a half game behind the Boston Red Sox with the loss.  Boston battled the Cleveland Indians all night long, with the lead constantly changing hands.  The Indians scored 7 runs off Red Sox ace Chris Sale in the game.  They also scored two runs in the top of the 9th against Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel, including a solo homer by Francisco Lindor which tied the game.  The Indians took a 10-9 lead into the bottom of the 9th with closer Cody Allen on the mound, but Boston's Christian Vasquez hit a three-run homer for the 12-10 walk-off win.  The Tampa Bay Rays also won.  They beat the Houston Astros, 6-4, behind Chris Archer.  They are 3 1/2 games behind the Yankees.  The Baltimore Orioles won their fourth consecutive game (7-2 over the Kansas City Royals) so they moved within 5 1/2 games of the Yankees.  

Credit:  John Wilcox-Boston Herald

Matt Holliday was 2-for-4 with a double so there's hope he is finally coming around, but he continues to be a disappointment in clutch situations.  Getting his bat right is a key for the Yankees as long as Manager Joe Girardi keeps penciling his name into the lineup.  Clint Frazier and Aaron Judge were a combined 0-for-9.  CC Sabathia (9-4) took the loss. He did rebound to give the Yankees six innings.  He allowed 6 hits, 4 runs, and 1 walk while striking out 3.  The Yankees could have taken him off the hook but offense from Didi Gregorius alone was not enough.  

Credit:  Kathy Willens-AP

Brett Gardner stole two bases during the game and moved into fifth place tie with Roy White on the Yankees all-time list with 233 steals.  Next on the list is Hal Chase with 248 steals and Willie Randolph at 251.  The top leaders are Derek Jeter (358) and Rickey Henderson (326).

The Yankees can take the series this afternoon with a win on getaway day. Hopefully, the cold bats from yesterday have thawed overnight.

The Great Thurman Munson...

I always think of Thurman Munson on this day.  I can still remember where I was when I heard the news that my favorite player had died in a plane crash in Akron, Ohio on August 2, 1979.  It ripped the heart and soul out of the 1979 team.  The late Bobby Murcer, who had been reacquired by the Yankees a little more than a month before the plane crash, was the spiritual leader through this very difficult time.  "The life of a soul on earth lasts longer than his departure. He lives on in your life and the life of all others who knew him." 

Odds & Ends...

The newcomers have chosen their new numbers.  Sonny Gray will take #55, most recently occupied by Bryan Mitchell, and Jaime Garcia will don #34, worn the last few years by Houston Astros catcher Brian McCann.  When it was obvious that neither player would be able to get their same preferred number (54), I thought the selections of 34 and 55 were the most obvious.  

Credit:  Robert Sabo-New York Post

The history of 55, in recent years, has resided with Hideki Matsui and Ramiro Mendoza, but lately it's been available for Mitchell whenever he's been called up.  I guess he'll finally have to choose a new number when he gets his next Bronx phone call.  I think 55 is a great number for Gray.  I've long associated the number, pitching-wise, to the "Bulldog"...former Los Angeles Dodgers hurler Orel Hershiser.  I am sure there are plenty of other prominent players that have worn the number, but for some reason, I've always just thought of the Bulldog.  

Credit:  Getty Images

Jaime Garcia, in a pre-game interview, told the story how his late grandfather had told him as a boy he would play for the Yankees.  The Yankees are his family's favorite team, and they were Jaime's favorite team as a kid.  Great story.  I am looking forward to watching Jaime pitch in pinstripes.  Based on Joe Girardi's comments, it appears that Sonny Gray will start in Cleveland on Thursday and Garcia will take the mound the next day.  I hate to be guilty of looking ahead, but I can't wait for Thursday and Friday.  They should be fun and exciting games.

Credit:  Kathy Willens-AP

It has been said that the Gray trade has the potential to be a steal for the Yankees.  While I am glad Gray is a Yankee, the potential also exists for the trade to be a steal for the A's.  I still believe that James Kaprielian can be a top of the rotation starter.  Jorge Mateo and Dustin Fowler can be very dangerous players for a future A's squad.  Best case, the trade is a win/win for both organizations.  

It was another win for Chance Adams (7-3, 2.32 ERA).  The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders defeated the Buffalo Bisons, 5-1, on Tuesday behind Adams but the usual problem surfaced with too many walks (four).  He went 6 innings (101 pitches), giving up 8 hits and 3 runs to the Bisons.  He struck out 3.  Billy McKinney, one of the players that will need to be placed on the 40-man roster before December's Rule 5 Draft, hit a three-run homer to back Adams.

Have a great Wednesday!  Let's grab a win before the guys hop a plane to Cleveland.  Go Yankees!

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers 8/2

Good morning Yankees family and happy Wednesday to you all. If it feels like the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers just played a game it is because, well, they did. The good ole day game after a night game here in the Bronx, you have to love it. In the series finale between these two clubs the Yankees will send Masahiro Tanaka to the Yankee Stadium mound while the Tigers will counter with Jordan Zimmermann. Dare I say Happy Tanaka Day Yankees family? Ask me again in a few hours and I’ll tell you. Enjoy the game.

Tanaka set a career high in strikeouts last time out against the Tampa Bay Rays when he struck out 14 opposing batters. Tanaka went eight innings in the start allowing just one run on two hits setting the tone for a huge series win for New York. Is Tanaka finally back to being Tanaka?

Zimmermann was the subject of many trade rumors before the July 31^st trading deadline which may have explained why he was pulled after just 80 pitches and seven innings pitched in his last start against the Houston Astros on Friday. Zimmermann did allow three runs in the contest but ultimately made it through the deadline still a member of the Tigers.

The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along with the game in your cars, on the radio and at work (SHHHHH) by tuning into John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN. Enjoy the game, the hell with work and Go Yankees!!!

This Day In New York Yankees History 8/2: That's a lot of Teix Messages and RIP Thurman Munson

Many switch hitters have played this game of baseball but none have had more games in which they hit a home run from both sides of the plate than Mark Teixeira. Teixeira sent a Teix message on this day in 2011 from both sides of the plate for the 12th time in his career. The amazing part was that the two home runs game in a rain shortened victory in Chicago. Teixeira passed Eddie Murray and Chili Davis for the record.

Also on this day in 2007 the Yankees started an inning by giving up eight runs to the Chicago White Sox in a single frame. The Yankees would answer in the bottom of the inning by scoring eight runs of their own to tie the game in an eventual 13-9 loss. This marks only the second time in major league history that eight or more runs were scored in the same inning by each team.

Finally on this day in 1979 the Yankees captain Thurman Munson is killed when the Cessna Citation I/SP jet he is learning to fly crashes near a Canton-Akron airport. The Yankees catcher had been learning to fly for over two years so he could get home to his family in Ohio during off days. Munson was 32.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers 8/1

The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers are ready to kick off the month of August the only way these two teams know how, by playing baseball. Tonight the Bronx will play host to the Yankees and their starter CC Sabathia as well as the Detroit Tigers and their starter Anibal Sanchez. This should be a fun one to watch so let’s get to it. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into the WFAN broadcast.

Follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes a follow and enjoy the game. Go Yankees!

Meet a Prospect Special Edition: Jaime Garcia

Over the weekend and before the July 31^st trading deadline the New York Yankees went a long way into solidifying their starting rotation for the second half push and the postseason by acquiring left-handed starter Jaime Garcia from the Minnesota Twins. With a veteran lefty with postseason experience now on the roster, thus giving the Yankees options with the recently demoted Caleb Smith and pitchers like Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery who may face inning workload concerns, now may be the best time to get to know Garcia, so let’s do it. This is Meet a Prospect: The Jaime Garcia Special Edition.

Jaime Omar Garcia was born on July 8, 1986 in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico as the second of three children to a father of the same name, Jaime Garcia Sr. Garcia was raised between the border of Reynosa, Mexico and McCallen, Texas and attended Sharyland High School in Mission, Texas where the lefty caught the attention of the Baltimore Orioles who drafted him in the 30^th round of the 2004 MLB First Year Players Draft. The Orioles chose not to sign Garcia back in 2004 which left Garcia available to be drafted again in 2005. This time the St. Louis Cardinals came calling in the 22^nd round of the 2005 Draft thanks to scout Joe Almaraz. Almaraz was a scout with the Orioles in 2004 and a scout that wanted to sign Garcia before the team opted not to due to a poorly translated test. Almaraz moved on to the Cardinals organization in 2005 and he finally got his man.

Garcia toiled around in the Cardinals minor league system before getting the call up on July 11, 2008 where he made his MLB debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Garcia pitched two innings of relief giving up just one hit, walking one and striking out two. That was the best moment Garcia would have in 2008 though as the left-hander underwent Tommy John surgery after the 2008 season. Garcia missed most of the 2009 season after the surgery before coming back in the minor leagues in mid-September of 2009.

Garcia was deemed healthy for the 2010 season and made the team as the Cardinals fifth starter out of spring training camp. Garcia made the most of the opportunity pitching his way to third in the NL Rookie of the Year Voting after posting a 13-8 record with an ERA of 2.70 in his first full season with St. Louis. Garcia continued to anchor the Cardinals starting rotation all the way to the World Series when the Cardinals and the Texas Rangers faced off head-to-head in 2011. Garcia started Game 2 of that World Series becoming only the second ever Mexican-born pitcher to start a World Series game and the first since Fernando Valenzuela did so back in 1981. The Cardinals ended up beating the Rangers in seven games to claim the franchise’s 11^th World Series title overall and Garcia’s first as a professional baseball player.

Garcia rode that high of winning a World Series into the 2012 season but after just 20 starts the left-hander was shut down due to shoulder discomfort. Without Garcia the Cardinals still reached the NLCS losing to the eventual World Series Champions in the San Francisco Giants. Garcia returned for the 2013 season but after posting a 5-2 record and a 3.58 ERA the lefty underwent shoulder surgery that once again ended his season on May 17. Garcia worked his way back with hopes of pitching again in 2014 but before he could make it back to the Major Leagues he developed shoulder bursitis which kept him on the shelf until May 18, 2014. Garcia pitched for the Cardinals until July 5 of that season before needing another left-shoulder surgery to correct his thoracic outlet syndrome. For the second consecutive season Garcia was limited to under 10 starts for St. Louis.

Garcia, the ever-resilient one, returned to the mound in May of 2015 for the Cardinals but by July was back on the disabled list again, this time for a groin injury that he sustained while running the bases against the Miami Marlins. Garcia returned just in time to throw a combined no-hitter on July 23 while on a rehab assignment with the Peoria Chiefs before also allowing Ichiro’s 4,191^st professional hit tying him with Ty Cobb. Garcia pitched well down the stretch though pitching nine quality starts in his last 10 starts and proving his health which allowed the Cardinals to exercise his team option for the 2016 season worth $11.5 million.

Garcia pitched his seventh and final season with the Cardinals in 2016 before the Atlanta Braves acquired him in a trade with the Cardinals for Chris Ellis, John Gant and Luke Dykstra. Garcia made 18 starts for the Braves posting a 4-7 record and a 4.30 ERA in 113 innings before the Braves traded the lefty to the Minnesota Twins along with Anthony Recker for prospect Huascar Ynoa. Garcia made one whole start for the Twins giving up three runs in 6.2 innings pitched against the Oakland Athletics before once again being shipped out in a trade, this time to the New York Yankees along with cash considerations for prospects Zack Littell and Dietrich Enns. Minnesota will be paying all of Garcia’s $12 million salary for the remainder of the 2017 season aside from a pro-rated league minimum that the Yankees are on the hook for. Garcia will be a free agent at season’s end.

Garcia is here to not only fill innings for the Yankees but to take some pressure and innings off the young arms of Jordan Montgomery and Luis Severino. Garcia was a relatively minor acquisition in terms of prospects and the deal not only got the Yankees a proven and postseason tested arm but it also cleared a 40 man roster spot for the club. Welcome to the club Jaime and more importantly, welcome to the family!

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers 8/1

Good afternoon Yankees family and welcome to August baseball as the New York Yankees remain home to play host to the Detroit Tigers in the second of their three-game set this week in the Bronx. In the middle game of the series the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound while the Tigers will counter with Anibal Sanchez. Fun, fun, fun. Let’s get to it.

Sabathia was not effective in his last start against the Tampa Bay Rays although the Yankees were able to pull out a win regardless. In the start Sabathia lasted just 4.1 innings allowing four earned runs which is not exactly what you want. Sabathia did notch his 2,800^th career strikeout in the start though if you’re looking for a silver lining.

Sanchez was in the midst of a Cinderella type season in 2017 before the last 15.1 innings pitched came up from behind and slapped him in the face. During that span Sanchez has allowed 12 runs on 24 hits covering three starts including his last start against the Kansas City Royals who collected nine hits off the right-hander in just 3.2 innings pitched.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along with the game in your cars and on the radio by tuning into the WFAN broadcast featuring Mr. and Ms. Baseball, John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. Enjoy the game and as always, go Yankees!!!

There's No Doubt About This Trade

The majority of Yankees fans and members of the media like the trade for Sonny Gray for the Yankees. That's not to say they don't like the deal for Oakland, but who cares about them? Am I right? You're here for the New York freakin' Yankees.

As I was saying, most people not only like that Gray is a Yankee, but they like the way he became a Yankee. If you've been locked in a cellar for the past 20 hours, let me catch you up to speed...

The Yankees and Athletics agreed to a trade yesterday that sent Sonny Gray to New York, while sending prospects Jorge Mateo, Dustin Fowler, and James Kaprielian to Oakland.

First thing's first, acquiring Sonny Gray is a good thing for the Yankees. Since his MLB debut in 2013 (he's still just 27 years old, by the way), Sonny has started 112 games, putting up an ERA of 3.42 and WHIP of 1.200. He's averaged just under three walks every nine innings, while striking out a little under eight batters per nine. By the way, those numbers include his injury riddled 2016, in which he had career worsts in all four of those statistics.

That injury history refers to Sonny going on the disabled list last May due to a strained right trapezius muscle, and then again in August due to a strained right forearm. Sadly that wasn't it as Gray missed all of April this season due to a strained right shoulder (he was not put on the disabled list, but instead assigned to the minors for rehabilitation).

So acquiring Gray does not come without some risk, especially since all of those injuries involve his throwing arm. Thankfully, he's proven that as long as he's healthy he's a starter that you can run out there every five days and feel good about your chances of winning. Which is something this year's team needs in order to win the American League East, and do a little more damage in the postseason.

Another good thing is that Sonny is just an arbitration eligible player, and will not be a free agent until after the 2019 season. Fangraphs values Gray at $17.7 million so far this season, but he will make just $3.575 million. That's a gigantic return on investment. And while Sonny will surely get a raise next year, it will go a long way into the team finally reaching it's goal of getting under the Luxury Tax threshold.

There's no doubt that it's a good to great thing bringing Mr. Gray on board. However, when valuing his acquisition, you must also look at what it cost to get him.

"This total could hurt."

I touched on this Friday, where I pointed out that the outfield for the future is set, and then some. Clint Frazier and Aaron Judge have the corner spots locked down for at least another five years. Center field is a bit of a question, but not in a bad way. I'd like to see Brian Cashman find a way to move him, but Jacoby Ellsbury can play CF, and is signed through 2020. Brett Gardner's contract runs through next season. And Aaron Hicks, who is not too far from returning from the disabled list, won't be a free agent until after the 2019 season. And that doesn't include the fact that I really want the Yankees to sign Bryce Harper when he becomes a free agent after next season (unfortunately, Bryce hasn't played CF since 2015, but we'll figure that out once he's signed).

Oh, and the Yankees still have Estevan Florial, who is probably two or three years away from being MLB-ready. Not to mention Billy McKinney, who has been hitting really well since getting promoted to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

So the losses of Mateo and Fowler should not lead to any trouble at all.

Now for the starting rotation of the future, which has at least one question, making the loss of possible future starter James Kaprielian hurt a bit.

Gray won't be a free agent until after the 2019 season, while Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery won't be a free agent until after the 2022 season. After that the team may have Masahiro Tanaka through 2020 if he doesn't opt out of his contract after the season (I could see the Yanks re-signing him even if he does opt out). That leaves one more spot for 2018, which could be filled by CC Sabathia (he's been mentioned as a candidate for a one year deal for 2018). If not CC, then there's Chance Adams, who's been killing it at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Or even Domingo Acevedo, who was a beast for Trenton, and will join Scranton/Wilkes-Barre here soon. Then there's Justus Sheffield, who is not far from the Majors as he's spent all of 2017 at AA Trenton. A little further down the line is highly regarded pitching prospect Albert Abreu. That's still a ton of depth.

So the Yankees improved their chances of winning this year, helped solidify the rotation for the next two years, still have a great shot at getting under the Luxury Tax threshold next season, and are left with a number of options to fill their roster from within for years to come.

Yes, losing any good prospect hurts, especially when it's three at once. I wasn't sold on Mateo continuing to dominate, but I liked the guy and thought he could be an option for the team in a few years. Even though he's constantly hurt, Kaprielian still has a high ceiling, so he could hurt us as early as next season. And then there's Fowler, who despite having suffered a serious knee injury leading to surgery, could be a solid piece for the Oakland A's next year and beyond. So I don't want you to think I'm disregarding those three... not at all.

But when you look at the whole of the deal, there's no doubt in my mind that the Yankees did the right thing here. So while you're entitled to your opinions...