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Yankees could have another trade steal in this surging right-hander
The New York Yankees struck a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers a few years ago, with the struggling Joey Gallo looking to find playing time elsewhere. It was a marriage that had to end, as the left-handed hitting outfielder didn’t do much of anything for this offense. Entering the 2022 season, Gallo had been projected for excellent numbers entering the 2022 season, as ZIPS had his median outcome as a 131 OPS+ and 3.7 WAR. He fell way short of expectations with the Yankees, but the Dodgers had hoped they could capture lightning in a bottle down the stretch.
In return for Gallo, who posted a 91 wRC+ and .277 OBP with the Dodgers, the Yankees got Clayton Beeter to bolster their Minor League pitching depth. Brian Cashman might have struck gold, as the right-hander has been brilliant in Triple-A this season.
Clayton Beeter Could Be a Massive Steal For the Yankees
Last season we saw Clayton Beeter make the ascent from Double-A to Triple-A, and it was his first full season operating as a normal starting pitcher. When the Yankees acquired Beeter from the Dodgers, he had been more of an opener at that point, with Somerset slowly building him up to handle 4-5 inning workloads by the time the postseason rolled around. It was clear that getting him to consistently start would be difficult, especially given the fact that he has command issues and only two reliable pitches.
Upon being promoted to Triple-A we saw a lot of those issues rear their ugly heads, as Beeter walked 13.9% of batters faced and allowed a 1.90 HR/9 in his 15 outings, resulting in a 4.94 ERA and 5.17 xFIP. The average ERA in the International League was over 5.00, so Beeter wasn’t nearly as bad as the numbers suggested. Still, the command issues made it clear that if the Texas Tech alumni wanted to become a reliable starter, he would need his fastball-slider combination to be unhittable.
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