Updates on Breaking News: Yankees Finalizing Deal for OF Joey Gallo!
The New York Yankees are finalizing a deal to acquire left-hand hitting OF Joey Gallo according to multiple sources.
First announced around 8:00 PM EST, this deal still making progress, though it is expected to be completed tonight. What was originally a 6 prospect deal has now gone down to 4 with a move from relievers John King to Joely Rodriguez.
Inside is a player bio for Gallo and Rodriguez, my quick trade reaction, and tweets:
BREAKING: The New York Yankees are finalizing a deal to acquire outfielder Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers, sources tell ESPN. The deal is pending medical review. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 29, 2021
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The Joey Gallo trade is inching forward. The Yankees would get Gallo and LHR Joely Rodriguez from Texas for 4 minor leaguers: RHP Glenn Otto, 2B Ezekiel Duran, SS Josh Smith and 2B/OF Trevor Hauver. Neither team has announced it officially yet. — Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) July 29, 2021
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The #Yankees reached deep into their pitching and middle-IF depth in this package for Gallo, but did not touch the two middle IF they believe have the highest upside in Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe, nor pitching with Luis Gil, Luis Medina or Clarke Schmidt. — Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 29, 2021
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Lot of volume, some of these guys will regress, but this many 5th to 20th or so guys in the Yankees system means some of them should pop. Duran was slated to rank 6th, Smith 8th, Otto 20th, Hauver 22nd on our soon to post Yankees Midseason Top 30. https://t.co/RJbx50e9gj — JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) July 29, 2021
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THE TRADE LOOKS TO BE:
NYY RECEIVES: Joey Gallo (OF) and Joely Rodriguez (LHP)
TEX RECEIVES: Josh Smith (SS; Yankees #14 Prospect), Ezequiel Duran (2B; Yankees #15), Trevor Hauver (2B/OF; Yankees #23), and Glenn Otto (RHP; Yankees #28)
Who is Joey Gallo?
Joey Gallo is a left-handed hitting and right-handed throwing outfielder from the Texas Rangers organization. Drafted in the 1st round (39th Overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft, Gallo had only ever been a part of the Texas Rangers organization. During this time he was considered to be a top-prospect in the game, ranking in the Top-10 across multiple publications (MLB.com, Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus) over multiple years (2014 and 2015).
Gallo originally broke into the MLB in 2015 and cemented himself as an every-day player in 2017. Since then, Gallo has hit to a combined .214/.340/.507 (.848 OPS; 120 OPS+) triple-slash which also includes 138 HR’s, 302 RBI’s, 304 BB’s, and 721 K’s over 515 games. Combined with defense that ranks as great-to-elite, this has earned him a Gold Glove in 2020 and has helped him to accumulate +14.0 bWAR since Gallo became a full-time player. This includes his 2021 season where Gallo is currently putting up great offensive numbers (.223/.379/.490 (.869 OPS, 139 OPS+)) and has a season-best +4.1 bWAR already.
Gallo does come with a small injury history that includes a 2019 season where he missed a large portion of the season with some left oblique issues before a right wrist surgery ended his season at the end of July.
Gallo also comes with the typical Yankees profile as a hitter who will mostly play to the three-true outcomes and strikes out a lot (on average 1.4 times per game), though he combines this with a good eye and an AL-leading 74 walks which helps raise his OBP.
Who is Joely Rodriguez?
Originally slated to be John King as the reliever coming to the Yankees in this deal, in a late move to remove two prospects the Yankees are said to be taking on Joely Rodriguez instead.
In 2021 he has pitched to a 5.93 ERA (76 ERA+, 3.70 FIP) alongside a 1.610 WHIP, 12 BB’s (4.0 BB/9) and 30 K’s (9.9 K/9) over 31 games and 27.1 innings.
Rodriguez looks like he will be the replacement in the bullpen for Justin Wilson (who was traded early this morning with Luis Cessa to the Cincinnati Reds). He also matches a similar profile to Clay Holmes as another reliever who is underperforming his advanced metrics, who they acquired earlier this week from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Hoy-Jun Park and Diego Castillo.
My Quick Reaction:
There are many things to be said about this deal, though I’m going to try and keep it short and start with my feelings on each of the prospects the Yankees are trading away:
Josh Smith – I was indifferent on him as a prospect, looked good in his time and has a good bat for average and I don’t believe he’s going to stay at shortstop. Left-handed bats for the Yankees are not great to trade away, though they’re getting back a much better lefty.
Ezequiel Duran – I was never high on Duran and though I no longer have fodder for references to a mid-80’s band I am totally okay with his inclusion in this deal. I understand scouts/”experts” are high on him. I never was after watching footage and reading reports on him. He didn’t have the look and anyone telling you he is a top prospect is going entirely off recency bias as opposed to the whole story.
Everson Pereira – Looks like they’re keeping him! Yay!
Trevor Hauver – A solid hitter, though a player without a set position and looks to have a Rob Refsnyder type career ahead of himself. I liked him (as I did Refsnyder) though he was fighting an uphill battle as the 2nd round pick from last year. He has plenty of time to prove himself though.
Glenn Otto – He may be the player most will be upset about because he was doing very well in the minors this year, but I’m not as sold on him as others. He’ll make the MLB soon now with the Rangers but he was the 28th ranked prospect for a reason.
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And, I will say, I am very happy the Yankees are getting Joey Gallo. They needed to do something if they think they can compete and this is a move I will get behind. I look forward to watching 500-foot bombs go into the grandstand in right field over the next season and a half.
I wanted a good left-handed bat for Yankee Stadium for a while. Now we have it. I wanted a guy who can stay healthy. Gallo can be that player. I wanted a guy who can control the outfield. Gallo is a great defender.
HOWEVER, Gallo is a continuation of a Yankee model that I haven’t been a fan of with getting power-hitting, three-true-outcomes type players. Luckily, Gallo doesn’t have as many Hot/Cold streaks as many of the TTO players the Yankees have, though I think this is going to be a great test to see if the idea of building a team around mostly analytics works.
I am hopeful, but I am skeptical.
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Given the recent update away from John King as the added reliever, I am both happy the Yankees are seemingly going to keep around Pereira though Rodriguez looks like a big question mark. I wonder how much more negotiations will take place before the deal is finalized.
