Yankees Bring In Top Reliever In Trade With Dodgers
The New York Yankees needed a reliever to round out their roster ahead of the 2024 season.
They weren’t going to sign Josh Hader, but their fans expected them to bring in one of Hector Neris, Keynan Middleton, Phil Maton, or Wandy Peralta.
All of them signed with other squads in recent days, seemingly leaving the Yanks without solid options to add.
They got creative, though, and completed a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“The Yankees acquire lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson from the Dodgers. Ferguson posted a 3.43 ERA in 68 games last season, after a 1.82 ERA in 37 games in 2022,” Talkin’ Yanks tweeted.
Ferguson is no Hader: that much is clear.
However, no one is or should be expected to be.
The cost to acquire Ferguson wasn’t particularly high, which makes the deal better for the Yanks.
All they needed to surrender was recent waiver pickup Matt Gage (a 30-year-old lefty reliever they claimed from the Houston Astros) and young pitching prospect Christian Zazueta Jr., who is still in the Dominican Summer League.
Ferguson is just 27 years old and is at least as talented as Maton, Middleton, and some of the pitchers in that tier.
Over the last two seasons with the Dodgers, the southpaw posted a 2.84 ERA, a 3.21 FIP, and a 3.1 percent barrel rate in 95 innings.
That’s more than enough of a sample to say that he is a very solid middle reliever to complement the Yankees’ righty-heavy bullpen.
