Wednesday night was a busy one for the Yankees. After a few hiccups that changed the original deal (one that brought reliever John King and had the Bombers sending six prospects), New York ended up trading four prospects to the Texas Rangers for outfielder Joey Gallo and bullpen arm Joely Rodriguez.
Speaking on SNY (link to NJ Advance MEdia article here), former New York Mets’ general manager Jim Duquette expressed his approval for the Yankees’ move, and went so far as calling it a “perfect fit.†Indeed, Gallo’s light-tower power will definitely play in Yankee Stadium’s short right-field porch, and his on-base abilities will fit nicely in the lineup.
Duquette says that the four prospects the Yankees sent, none of them in the preseason’s top 10 list, was a “small†cost.
The Yankees should get another bullpen arm
Speaking about what he thinks the Yankees should do next, here is what Duquette said:
“They’re going for this, obviously, even if it’s for the Wild Card. I’d like to see them find themselves another bullpen arm at some point. I know they picked one up the other day that I kind of like from the Pirates, (Clay) Holmes. He gets righties out. But I’d like to see another bullpen piece of some kind or maybe it’s a back-end starter. The rotation is thin and it’s getting healthy, hopefully, here over the next couple of weeks for them. But I still think they need another pitcher or two moving forward. They’re up against the luxury tax. They don’t have a lot of room there. … It’s not going to be easy to do. But I do think their next move is going to be some kind of bullpen piece.â€
There are lots of relievers potentially available near the deadline: Ian Kennedy, Jose Cisnero, Richard Rodriguez, Daniel Bard, Joakim Soria, Taylor Rogers (currently injured), Craig Kimbrel, and more.
About Gallo, Duquette also provided his insight and talked about his fit with the Yankees.
“I think it’s a small cost for a guy like Joey Gallo. He’s got a high strikeout — we’ve seen that. But the power is real. This is a 40-home run bat to go in the middle of the lineup, and since the change in the illegal substances that the pitchers haven’t been able to use, his numbers have gone up significiantly, especially on the four-seam fastball and his home run rates. He’s a really good athlete and, oh, they finally got a left-handed bat to go in the middle of that lineup to break up all the right-handed bats. He can play all the positions in the outfield. He’s a good enough athlete that you would occasionally play him in center. He’s really a perfect fit for the Yankees. It’s one of those you wish you were able to do sooner. It’s getting close to the deadline so these deals finally get consummated.â€