
The New York Yankees have begun their bolstering of the pitching rotation with the acquisition of Mariner ace, James Paxton. The Bombers will send three prospects, including top-rated lefty, Justus Sheffield.
With the Mariners seemingly in full rebuild mode, the Yankees took full advantage, giving up one of their younger, more promising players for a 30-year old starter that is a free agent in 2020. The front-office must be keen on keeping Paxton around for quite some time given the amount of assets given up to acquire him.
What other players did the New York Yankees give up?
The two additional prospects are outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams and right-handed pitcher Erik Swanson.
Paxton will join a rotation featuring a young Luis Severino and two veterans in Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia. He will undoubtedly provide the boost the Yankees need to move forward in their playoff hopes and feel better with their starting unit.
The Yankees on the other hand lose their No.1 pitching prospect that needed a few more years of development to become a legitimate starter. Clearly, they’re playing to “win-now,” rather than waste away the years of players like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.