The New York Yankees have acquired right-hander Brandon McCarthy in exchange for lefty Vidal Nuno. In addition, they have designated outfielder Alfonso Soriano for assignment.
On the surface, McCarthy’s numbers look rather ugly. Across 18 starts and 109.2 innings pitched, McCarthy a 5.01 ERA and a 1.23 HR/9. However, FIP (fielding independent pitching) thinks very highly of him, with a 3.79 mark. xFIP likes him even more at 2.89. This is because McCarthy has been extremely unlucky. While 55.3% of contact he has induced results in a ground ball and only 21.6% results in a fly ball (both career bests), a whopping 20% of those fly balls have left the park. Moving to Yankee Stadium and the AL East may not abate those, but the Yankees have clearly decided to try their luck with him. He is a very good bounceback candidate, and in trading away Vidal Nuno’s 5.42 ERA (backed by a 5.15 FIP), they get him for essentially nothing.
Arizona is also eating $2.05 million of the $4.1 million owed to McCarthy for the rest of the season. The Yankees will also pay out the $1 million bonus that McCarthy’s contract says he earns if he is traded. McCarthy is a free agent at the end of the season.
As for Soriano, he has been nothing short of awful this season. The 38-year old has hit only .221/.244/.367, and just about every defensive metric does not regard his work in the field highly at all. He also fails to pass the eye test, often looking completely lost in the outfield and taking horrid routes to balls. Calls for Soriano’s head have been circulating for some time now, and after yesterday’s two defensive snafus and poor plate discipline it seems the Yankees have had enough. RHP Bruce Billings was recalled to take his spot on the 25-man roster, but figures to only be up for today to provide bullpen relief, as Yankees relievers have been overworked of late. Outfielder Zoilo Almonte is absent from today’s lineup at Triple-A Scranton, and may be up tomorrow. Shane Green has also been removed from the team’s list of probable pitchers from coming games, and may be called up to take Chase Whitley’s place in the big league rotation.
The series of moves signifies a large change of pace for the beleaguered Yankees, who have struggled on both sides of the ball and find themselves sitting at 43-43 coming into Sunday’s action against the Minnesota Twins. However, they are only 3.5 games back from the Baltimore Orioles, and only one game away from catching the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays just lots superstar Edwin Encarnacion to injury, and it seems the Yankees smell blood in the water.
Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish first officially reported the McCarthy trade. Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News confirmed that it was Nuno who was being sent to Arizona, and Buster Olney of ESPN confirmed the monetary details. Yankees manager Joe Girardi made the Soriano DFA public.
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