In a blockbuster deal early Sunday, the Cleveland Indians have finally done what many have tried over the past week: pry Andrew Miller away from the Yankees.
Hi.
We've acquired @a_miller48 from the Yankees.
Andrew is 6-1 w/a 1.39 ERA and 77 strikeouts (!!!!) in 45.1 IP. pic.twitter.com/UCvU2gGjvp
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 31, 2016
It wasn’t cheap as the Indians are sending top prospect Clint Frazier, second ranked pitching prospect Justus Sheffield (initially supposed to be heading to the Brewers in the vetoed Jonathan Lucroy trade), and two relievers with high expectations, Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen, to New York in exchange for the 31-year old Miller, who is signed through 2018 for $9 million per season.
Both the cost in prospects and dollars is greater than any the Indians have spent in an extremely long time, completely contradicting reports of insiders, who claimed the Indians would be hesitant to spend any money at the deadline, as they had failed to do in recent years.
Chris Antonetti had made it clear weeks ago that the Indians believe their window to win a World Series will never be more open with this team and that money would be no issue in trade discussions. The Yankees also said recently that they wouldn’t be paying any future salaries of players lost in trade and both teams stayed true to this new role, the polar opposite of their traditional roles as the Indians will be paying for Miller the rest of this year and the $18 million over the next two seasons.
Miller has been an elite reliever for years, and has held an ERA below 3.00 each year since 2012. He currently has an ERA of 1.39, with an FIP of 1.77, and ridiculous K/9 of 15.3. While he may be on the wrong side of 30, there isn’t a better left handed reliever in baseball, particularly when you consider Miller’s long period of success. For the Indians, he’s likely to be a lot more than just a LOOGY, however, as he will likely fit in for either the 7th or 8th based on the timing of the opposition’s lineup, taking some of the strain off Bryan Shaw and setting up for closer Cody Allen.
Today @yankees acquire OF Clint Frazier, LHP Justus Sheffield and RHPs Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen from Cleveland for LHP Andrew Miller.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) July 31, 2016
Heading off the package going to New York is the red-headed Clint Frazier, Cleveland’s #1 prospect. He hit 25 doubles and 13 home runs in AA this year before a recent promotion to AAA. Frazier was the 5th overall pick in 2013 and is still only just 21 years old. He should be ready for regular MLB action as early as the beginning of the 2017 season.
Justus Sheffield is much less of a sure thing, but still has an extremely high ceiling. He was drafted in the first round of 2014 as a supplemental pick, 31st overall. He is a top 100 prospect in all of baseball after a 3.31 ERA in 127.2 innings last year in A ball, striking out 138. This year, he has been nearly as dominant in Advanced A and is expected to be a hard throwing, left handed, mid-rotation starter a few more years down the line.
The two relievers, both right handed, aren’t in any national rankings, but both have promising futures. Heller is currently in AAA with a 2.49 ERA at the age of 24 and can hit triple digits at times, although not as consistently as Chapman. Feyereisen (pronounced Fire-Rise-N) is currently playing in AA with a 2.23 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 40.1 innings.
Showing the incredible value of a one inning pitcher, the Indians now hold the top prospects of two teams, adding Frazier to Gleyber Torres, who they picked up from the Cubs as the centerpiece of the Chapman deal. In all, New York was able to add eight total prospects for the price of just two relievers.
While it would appear that this would mean the Yankees had given up on the 2016 season, that may not be the case.
After trading Miller, they made a 1 for 1 deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, acquiring Tyler Clippard for Jose Vicente Campos, a 23 year old right handed starting pitcher currently playing in AAA.
Today the @Yankees announced they have acquired RH reliever Tyler Clippard from Arizona in exchange for minor league RHP Vicente Campos.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) July 31, 2016
Clippard is no stranger to the Yankees, who drafted him in the ninth round of the 2003 Draft. This season in Arizona, he has a 4.30 ERA in 37 2/3 innings, along with 46 strikeouts and 15 walks. He’s making $4.1 million this season, and is signed for $4.2 million in 2017. Campos came over to the Yankees in the disastrous Michael Pineda/Jesus Montero trade, and has pitched to a 3.20 ERA with 105 punchouts and 38 walks in 121 innings this season split between high-A, AA, and AAA.
