The Yankees don’t merely upgrade their spin, however, they also add Trivino to the barn, their second addition of the day, following buy back sooner of the Scott Effross. Yankee fans might see Trivino’s 6.47 ERA and scoff, but there really is more to like under the hood. Trivino fell victim to a batting average of 0.451 on balls in play, even though that number was around 0.250 over the previous two seasons. His 28.7% strike rate and 52.3% tackle rate for the year are both career highs while his 8.9% walk rate is a career low. As a result, all advanced metrics suggest that his fortunes in the ball are masking his true talent, with Trivino currently at 4.29 xERA, 3.84 FIP, 2.92 xFIP and 2.89 SIERA. He is earning a modest $3 million salary this year and could be retained through refereeing for two more seasons.
The Yankees’ outburst seemed unstoppable for much of the season but has hit some rough patches since then. Chad Green Tommy John required surgery and won’t be back this year. Michael King also performed in the year after the elbow fracture. Can’t touch once Aroldis Chapman have struggled since leaving IL. Clay Holmes, who seems to be replacing Chapman as the unstoppable monster in the cowshed, has also returned to earth in recent weeks. With the addition of Effross and Trivino, the Yankees have some additional options for the late game.
Person A has completely reworked their system this year with the Bassitt, Manaea, Olson and Chapman deals mentioned above, and the deal will allow them to bring in four more new faces. The bright spot for the group is probably Waldichuk, 24, who is enjoying a terrible breakout season. Picked by the Yankees for the fifth round in 2019, he split his time this year between Double-A and Triple-A. In 17 starts between the two levels, he throws 76 1/3 rounds with an ERA of 2.71 and a staggering 36.5% hit rate. The 10.4% walk rate is a bit above average, but there’s still a lot to be excited about about that performance. Southpaw was recently ranked #5 by Baseball America in the Yankees’ system.
Sears, 26, is 20th on the same list at BA. He made his MLB debut this year and has been in good form so far, scoring a 2.05 ERA in his first 22 major innings. He only achieved 18.1% clip attacks during that time, but was much better at knocking out minors. In 43 rounds of Triple-A this year, he has an ERA of 1.67 with a 33.7% hit rate, along with a 4.3% walk rate.
Medina, 23, is also considered by BA to be one of Yankee’s top prospects, fluctuating between #7 and #11 from 2018 to the present. He has 17 starts in this year’s Double-A, throws 72 innings with a 3.38 ERA, 50.9% tackle rate, 26.4% hit rate, but a high 13% walk rate .
As for Bowman, he’s the longest-running of the new Athletics, as he’s just 22 years old and was enlisted last year, being selected in the fourth round. He played 80 games in the High-A this year, hitting the .217/.343/.355 mark while playing second base and short step.
While Person A is thriving for the future, the Yankees are strengthening for the now. Their 69-34 record is the best in the US Major and is second only to the Dodgers for best in the majors. In recent days, they have strengthened their lineup by adding Andrew Benintendi, adding Montas to their rotation and Effross and Trivino to their cowshed. Although there are still about 24 hours left until the trading deadline for them to make their next moves, they have clearly established themselves as one of the strongest teams this year.
With Castillo and Montas both currently out of the market, teams looking for rotational upgrades will likely turn their attention to Tyler Mahle. Teams like the Cardinals, Twins, Padres and Blue Jays have been linked to Montas in recent days, with those clubs now potentially pivoting to Mahle or other arms.
