The New York Yankees announced this week that they were granting left-handed reliever Victor Gonzalez his unconditional release after failing to gain consistency in Triple-A.
Gonzalez was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason, in the same transaction that netted them infield prospect Jorbit Vivas. The team had to surrender top prospect Trey Sweeney in return back then.
Sweeney is currently getting a chance in MLB with the Detroit Tigers after he found his way there from the Dodgers at the deadline. The trade, even though Gonzalez didn’t work out, wasn’t a total failure because the Yankees still have Vivas and he seems to be part of their future.
It just didn’t work out between Victor Gonzalez and the Yankees
Gonzalez hasn’t been with the Yankees since June when he was designated for assignment because the team needed a roster spot. They outrighted him to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre after he posted a 3.86 ERA with the big league team.
That ERA looks good on the surface, but it came with 13 walks and just 11 strikeouts in 23.1 innings of work. The Yankees decided that those peripherals just wouldn’t work and got him off their roster.
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Now, after 22 frames in Scranton, the southpaw has returned a rather uninspiring 4.50 ERA. It’s clear that his time with the Yankees was not what the team hoped when they traded for him.
The move made sense at the time. He has a solid 3.36 ERA for his career and the Yankees needed a lefty for their bullpen around those days. It just didn’t work out and now everybody is moving on.
There is a chance that somebody snatches Gonzalez off the free agent market and gives him work for the final couple of weeks of the season. He is now free to choose his next destination. That, unfortunately, won’t be the Bronx.
