The Yankees continue to sell.
On Sunday, team announced that it had acquired outfielder Clint Frazier, left-handed pitcher Justus Sheffield and right-handed pitchers Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen from the Indians in exchange for closer Andrew Miller.
Miller, who is under contract for the next two seasons at a total of $18 million, became the most valuable reliever on the market after Aroldis Chapman was sent to the Cubs.
How valuable? The Yankees landed not one, but two high-end prospects. Frazier, who comes in at No. 53 on Baseball Prospectus’ Top 101 this year, and Shefflield, a 20-year-old pitcher who came in at No. 69 on Baseball America‘s mid-season rankings.
Frazier, 21, has “legendary” bat-speed, general manager Brian Cashman said on his conference call, and is a high-energy player that will “stand up for the National Anthem in a dirty uniform.” There’s nothing here on the status of his jersey top, but here’s what the 2016 Baseball Prospectus annual had to say on Frazier:
From his mop of crimson hair to his 80-grade bat speed, Frazier certainly stands out, even among other talented prospects. While 2015 began with Red Thunder earning the wrong kind of attention (he struggled and broke a couple bats over his knee in anger) he claims that watching fellow elite prospect Bradley Zimmer succeed gave him a newfound appreciation for reaching base and staying focused. The stats matched his updated approach, and by the time his muse had been promoted out of Lynchburg, Frazier had drastically cut his strikeout rate from the past two seasons (from 30 percent to 21 percent in 2015) and re-established himself as a premier prospect. He stood out during the Arizona Fall League as well, earning a starting spot in the Fall Stars game, and looks poised to draw more eyes in 2016.
He’s got 60 power, and projects as an above-average major-league regular according to a BP scout.
Here is the latest book comment on Sheffield:
Every team wants a pitcher with professional bloodlines and a mid-90s fastball coming from the left side. Every team worries about a young starter who’s only 5-10 and already has legal issues on his record. So where does that leave Sheffield? Last year was certainly a step in the right direction, as the former prep arm showed flashes that he could stick in the middle of a rotation. His first full season was peppered with outings in which his command was an issue, but he settled in during the final two months of the season and notched a 0.96 ERA in his last five starts of the year. A 3.63 strikeout-to-walk rate shows he has the raw talent to eclipse his cousin Tony’s minor-league career. (Oh, you thought when we mentioned bloodlines we meant Gary? That’s a belief so widely held it deserves a Snopes rebuttal. Justus tells people “at least once a day” that he and the nine-time All-Star aren’t related.)
A BP eyewitness report from April graded Sheffield’s fastball at a 60, with a 55 slider, 50 cutter and 45 change. The scout believes the cutter and changeup are future 55-grade pitches, and that the slider will match the fastball as a 60-grade pitch. It looks like he’ll have two plus-pitches, with an effective cutter.
Here’s what the scout said:
Chance to start; though correctable, has mechanical concerns to iron out to make command more consistent. SWU; x-tall leg kick; generates power from aggressive back-leg drive; long stride makes landing leg stiff and rigid causing harder landings and the back-side to swing around hard; consistently falls off to glove-side through release. Plus arm-action; compact, in-line circle in the back; excellent arm-speed through high-three-quarters slot.
Cashman sees Frazier as the most “big-league ready,” though both he and Heller will begin in Triple-A and Heller could even reach the bigs this season.
With the trade, the Yankees now have seven players inside Baseball America‘s mid-season Top 100 in Mateo, Torres, Frazier, Sheffield, Judge, Sanchez and Kaprielian. The farm system that BP rated No. 16 in baseball before the season is now flexing its muscles.
Only the Lord above knows what will happen by the time the trade deadline passes on Monday. The Yankees could trade four more players, they could get two, hell, they could trade this entire deadline haul for Chris Sale. The fact remains, however, that ownership is finally caving, and allowing Cashman to work his magic. More moves could be coming.
Photo: Troy Taormina / USA Today Sports